2020 ZiPS Projections: Oakland Athletics

After having typically appeared in the hallowed pages of Baseball Think Factory, Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections have now been released at FanGraphs for eight years. The exercise continues this offseason. Below are the projections for the Oakland Athletics.

Batters

The projected highs for the A’s lineup are very high. Matt Chapman has firmly established himself in the top tier of third baseman, and he’s not even reliant on having a +15 glove to be a star. He’s in his prime now and ZiPS gives him a nice chunk of time — five years — until his projection dips below four wins. Now would be a good time to make Chapman a multi-millionaire several times over and extend him a couple years into free agency, practically guaranteeing he spends his best years in Oakland.

ZiPS is all-in on Marcus Semien, forecasting shockingly little regression from the .285/.369/.522, 33 HR, 7.6 WAR line that earned him the bronze medal in the AL MVP race. There’s some regression, especially in the home runs, but there was no BABIP flukiness helping to fuel his big year; ZiPS actually thought he was mildly unlucky there! Signing Chapman to an extension would ease some of the blow in not signing Semien, who is a year away from free agency; the team has little leverage there.

Rounding out the infield stars — the second base chimera is not one, even if it is projected to be boringly adequate in whatever configuration it ends up in — is Matt Olson. ZiPS projects Olson, along with Ramón Laureano and his robo-Barfield arm, both be a borderline star. The rest of the lineup, in classic A’s fashion, is fashioned out of leftover parts, but they’ve done a good enough job filling out the roster that none of the holes are devastating. ZiPS sadly does not see a meatier rebound year for Khris Davis and my hopes that the system would continue to project a .247 average for him were dashed.

Pitchers

The shock isn’t so much that the A’s won 97 games in 2020, but that they won 97 games and finished fourth in the AL in ERA despite a rotation they had to throw together on the fly. The A’s would have much rather have seen Sean Manaea, A.J. Puk, and Jesus Luzardo on the top of the rotation at this point, but Puk missed 2018 due to Tommy John surgery, Manaea had shoulder surgery at the end of that same season, and then last spring, Luzardo was shut down with a rotator cuff strain. Frankie Montas surprised as an ace early on, but his season ended early as well after an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Ostarine.

Full seasons from Luzardo, Manaea, and Montas, and eventually working Puk in, would be a major plus compared to desperate stints of Aaron Brooks and Marco Estrada. The WAR totals for the pitching only look low because ZiPS has learned not to be too optimistic about pitcher health, especially for guys with an injury history. The only projection that I would qualify as a disappointment — at least of the main contributors — is that of Mike Fiers. ZiPS believes in Fiers enough to think he’ll outperform his FIP by nearly a half-run, the main problem being that, much like Julio Teheran, ZiPS is projecting a FIP above five.

The bullpen projects as more consistently deep than as one with a few frightening names at the front. Hendriks is projected to continue to be a major plus, but the rest of relief corps is full of solid B+ pitchers. That may sound negative, but it’s not; Jake Diekman, Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria, Lou Trivino, and one of my favorite quiet pickups, Donnie Hart, make this group a consistent one, if one lacking in star power. In other words, it’s a typical, quality A’s bullpen.

Prospects

There are definitely some pitching projections to be excited about here. Puk’s fastball hit the high-90s in the majors and the A’s resisted any impulse to rush back their former first-rounder. The error bars on Puk are large, but ZiPS sees a high chance for him to be a legitimate front-rotation candidate. Yet another Tommy John survivor, Daulton Jefferies showed enough in Double-A that ZiPS sees him in the middle of a future A’s rotation as well.

Grant Holmes saw his projection improve year-over-year for the first time since the Dodger trade, and there’s finally some decent James Kaprielian data out there to project from. ZiPS is less excited about Sheldon Neuse, seeing him as having less upside than Franklin Barreto, who surely deserves a chance to sink or swim at this point. Neuse probably ought to be in the minors full-time rather than stealing occasional at-bats in the infield. The projections also indicate a surprisingly adequate Sean Murphy/Austin Allen combination behind the plate.

I really wish that Nick Allen could hit just a little bit better than he has. Allen’s defense was raved about by scouts and zDEF’s probability-based minor league estimation agreed with that assessment, ranking him as the best defensive shortstop in the minors per 150 games in 2019. Despite projections that peak at just over a .600 OPS in the majors, Allen’s projected defense is enough to give him into the one-win range, making him a useful role player. If his bat improves just a bit, he has a legitimate chance at a Brendan Ryan-type career.

One pedantic note for 2020: for the WAR graphic, I’m using FanGraphs’ depth charts playing time, not the playing time ZiPS spits out, so there will be occasional differences in WAR totals.

Ballpark graphic courtesy Eephus League. Depth charts constructed by way of those listed here.

Batters – Standard
Player B Age PO PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS
Matt Chapman R 27 3B 631 556 92 137 34 4 33 90 64 163 3 3
Marcus Semien R 29 SS 680 605 97 166 36 4 28 84 69 108 12 6
Matt Olson L 26 1B 584 514 80 130 28 0 35 98 60 152 1 0
Ramón Laureano R 25 CF 507 454 70 117 26 2 22 63 38 138 16 4
Mark Canha R 31 LF 463 398 65 97 22 2 21 58 48 108 3 2
Stephen Piscotty R 29 RF 491 441 60 114 27 1 18 65 39 101 3 1
Khris Davis R 32 DH 547 487 70 114 19 1 32 96 49 159 1 0
Sean Murphy R 25 C 309 278 37 66 15 1 10 34 23 72 1 0
Franklin Barreto R 24 2B 506 461 64 104 23 4 20 63 34 163 11 2
Austin Allen L 26 C 451 415 51 102 23 0 17 62 29 111 0 1
Sheldon Neuse R 25 3B 589 546 60 134 26 2 13 59 38 174 4 3
Nate Orf R 30 2B 483 416 55 93 18 3 7 38 45 88 9 3
Chad Pinder R 28 LF 385 353 47 86 19 1 14 47 23 99 1 1
Vimael Machin L 26 SS 491 429 50 100 20 2 7 40 53 88 5 2
Tony Kemp L 28 2B 433 386 51 99 17 4 7 39 36 61 11 6
Jonah Heim B 25 C 394 362 37 79 17 1 7 35 26 79 1 1
Robbie Grossman B 30 LF 461 397 54 98 22 2 7 42 58 87 6 3
Dustin Fowler L 25 CF 564 533 63 132 24 6 15 65 26 139 12 5
Luis Barrera L 24 CF 393 366 38 86 15 8 4 33 20 91 11 7
Carlos Perez R 29 C 357 332 32 71 17 1 8 40 17 65 1 1
Ronnie Freeman R 29 C 207 192 20 43 7 1 4 18 13 52 0 0
Chris Herrmann L 32 C 204 179 23 36 6 2 5 22 22 61 1 0
Jonah Bride R 24 3B 465 421 44 90 17 2 7 37 30 109 2 1
Chase Calabuig L 24 LF 497 441 46 102 15 2 6 30 49 114 6 4
Jason Krizan L 31 2B 438 397 44 96 23 2 8 45 37 62 2 1
Jorge Mateo R 25 SS 564 532 57 118 23 11 11 56 25 166 21 10
Nick Allen R 21 SS 440 404 38 87 18 3 2 27 24 87 13 8
Eric Campbell R 33 1B 362 317 40 72 15 1 7 38 36 75 4 3
Taylor Motter R 30 3B 351 319 36 64 14 1 10 36 27 87 8 4
Jordan Devencenzi R 27 C 259 239 20 50 7 0 1 14 12 59 0 1
Skye Bolt B 26 RF 433 391 44 79 19 3 10 42 34 140 7 5
Ryan Goins L 32 2B 421 381 36 86 19 2 6 37 33 108 2 3
Greg Deichmann L 25 RF 313 285 29 57 12 2 8 28 24 95 9 3
Ryan Court R 32 1B 350 313 35 65 13 1 8 33 32 120 3 1
Ryan Gridley R 25 2B 425 392 36 82 17 1 4 28 24 86 6 5
Seth Brown L 27 1B 563 519 63 115 25 4 17 67 37 177 6 2
Nate Mondou L 25 2B 525 472 48 101 18 3 4 36 40 117 7 7
Dan Gamache L 29 1B 360 323 31 65 14 1 3 24 32 99 0 2
Buddy Reed B 25 CF 451 413 41 78 15 4 9 42 30 165 19 9
Dillon Thomas L 27 RF 456 414 42 83 20 3 8 38 31 164 14 8
Tyler Ramirez L 25 LF 505 446 48 86 19 2 7 39 49 173 4 2
Trace Loehr L 25 2B 451 424 38 91 17 3 3 30 21 103 8 7
Brallan Perez R 24 RF 378 343 33 73 8 2 2 18 24 76 5 7
Mikey White R 26 1B 442 406 40 78 18 1 8 39 29 147 1 1
Lazaro Armenteros R 21 LF 506 455 48 78 14 2 14 44 45 224 14 7

Batters – Advanced
Player BA OBP SLG OPS+ ISO BABIP RC/27 Def WAR No. 1 Comp
Matt Chapman .246 .331 .500 123 .254 .289 5.9 15 5.4 Brooks Robinson
Marcus Semien .274 .348 .486 124 .212 .294 6.3 4 5.3 John Valentin
Matt Olson .253 .339 .512 128 .259 .291 6.3 7 3.7 Earl Williams
Ramón Laureano .258 .324 .469 113 .211 .323 5.7 3 3.0 Ryan Raburn
Mark Canha .244 .343 .467 119 .224 .283 5.7 -2 1.9 Josh Willingham
Stephen Piscotty .259 .327 .447 109 .188 .298 5.3 1 1.7 Jerry Morales
Khris Davis .234 .309 .474 110 .240 .277 5.2 0 1.5 Cecil Fielder
Sean Murphy .237 .302 .406 91 .169 .286 4.4 3 1.3 Geronimo Gil
Franklin Barreto .226 .287 .423 90 .197 .302 4.4 0 1.3 Delwyn Young
Austin Allen .246 .299 .424 95 .178 .296 4.5 -4 1.1 Joe Oliver
Sheldon Neuse .245 .295 .372 81 .126 .337 3.9 5 1.1 Hubie Brooks
Nate Orf .224 .317 .332 78 .108 .268 3.7 4 1.0 Dave Rohde
Chad Pinder .244 .299 .422 94 .178 .300 4.5 4 0.9 Shawn Wooten
Vimael Machin .233 .319 .338 80 .105 .278 3.8 1 0.9 Jeff McKnight
Tony Kemp .256 .324 .376 91 .119 .289 4.4 -3 0.7 Alex Cora
Jonah Heim .218 .272 .329 64 .110 .261 3.1 6 0.5 Drew Butera
Robbie Grossman .247 .343 .365 95 .118 .300 4.5 -4 0.4 Stu Pederson
Dustin Fowler .248 .285 .400 84 .152 .309 4.1 -4 0.4 Brian McRae
Luis Barrera .235 .279 .352 71 .117 .303 3.4 5 0.3 Carlos Gomez
Carlos Perez .214 .256 .343 62 .130 .243 3.0 5 0.3 Mike Ryan
Ronnie Freeman .224 .275 .333 66 .109 .287 3.2 2 0.2 Mike DiFelice
Chris Herrmann .201 .291 .341 72 .140 .274 3.4 -1 0.2 Paul Hoover
Jonah Bride .214 .282 .314 63 .100 .272 3.0 7 0.2 Mark Farris
Chase Calabuig .231 .312 .315 73 .084 .299 3.4 6 0.0 Gary Schneidmiller
Jason Krizan .242 .305 .370 84 .128 .269 4.0 -7 0.0 Todd Haney
Jorge Mateo .222 .259 .368 69 .147 .301 3.3 0 -0.1 Brian Guinn
Nick Allen .215 .267 .290 53 .074 .270 2.6 8 -0.1 Juan Villanueva
Eric Campbell .227 .310 .347 80 .120 .277 3.7 1 -0.1 Stu Pederson
Taylor Motter .201 .265 .345 65 .144 .243 3.1 2 -0.1 Tim Cullen
Jordan Devencenzi .209 .257 .251 40 .042 .274 2.1 7 -0.2 Fausto Tejero
Skye Bolt .202 .269 .343 66 .141 .286 3.0 9 -0.2 Richie Robnett
Ryan Goins .226 .287 .333 69 .108 .300 3.2 -1 -0.3 Rodney Nye
Greg Deichmann .200 .265 .340 64 .140 .269 3.2 3 -0.4 Chad Alexander
Ryan Court .208 .286 .332 69 .125 .308 3.3 2 -0.5 Orsino Hill
Ryan Gridley .209 .262 .288 51 .079 .258 2.5 5 -0.7 Gary Miller-Jones
Seth Brown .222 .275 .383 77 .162 .302 3.7 -1 -0.8 Jose Barrios
Nate Mondou .214 .281 .290 57 .076 .276 2.6 3 -0.8 Keith Johns
Dan Gamache .201 .279 .279 54 .077 .281 2.5 5 -1.0 Dan Melendez
Buddy Reed .189 .247 .310 51 .121 .289 2.6 1 -1.1 Jeff Doerr
Dillon Thomas .200 .268 .321 60 .121 .310 2.9 2 -1.1 William Blake
Tyler Ramirez .193 .280 .291 57 .099 .297 2.7 3 -1.2 Steve Fanning
Trace Loehr .215 .252 .290 48 .075 .277 2.4 3 -1.3 Wade Robinson
Brallan Perez .213 .275 .265 49 .052 .268 2.2 1 -1.6 Michael Massaro
Mikey White .192 .254 .300 51 .108 .279 2.5 3 -1.6 John Eierman
Lazaro Armenteros .171 .255 .303 52 .132 .295 2.5 -10 -3.0 Bert Hunter

Pitchers – Standard
Player T Age W L ERA G GS IP H ER HR BB SO FIP
Frankie Montas R 27 10 7 3.81 24 23 130.0 126 55 17 40 132 3.91
Sean Manaea L 28 8 6 3.86 18 18 95.7 88 41 13 28 89 4.12
Liam Hendriks R 31 5 2 2.90 67 0 71.3 55 23 8 20 98 2.77
Chris Bassitt R 31 7 6 4.33 27 23 122.7 119 59 17 46 114 4.47
Jesus Luzardo L 22 5 3 3.72 21 15 77.3 71 32 11 22 84 3.87
Daulton Jefferies R 24 3 2 3.90 29 17 85.3 85 37 13 14 79 3.94
Mike Fiers R 35 8 8 4.75 26 26 140.3 145 74 27 41 107 5.20
Daniel Mengden R 27 7 7 4.63 25 20 122.3 123 63 19 41 97 4.72
Paul Blackburn R 26 8 8 4.83 26 23 130.3 142 70 20 37 86 4.84
A.J. Puk L 25 6 4 4.14 26 12 67.3 59 31 8 34 76 4.12
Grant Holmes R 24 6 6 4.65 26 19 91.0 94 47 13 36 75 4.71
Jake Diekman L 33 4 2 3.48 67 0 54.3 40 21 4 35 73 3.71
Yusmeiro Petit R 35 4 3 3.80 65 0 71.0 66 30 11 13 64 3.94
Daniel Gossett R 27 6 6 4.87 18 18 94.3 101 51 15 36 71 5.01
Brian Howard R 25 8 9 5.12 25 25 130.0 143 74 23 48 100 5.21
Joakim Soria R 36 4 2 3.79 61 0 57.0 50 24 7 19 63 3.67
James Kaprielian R 26 4 4 4.71 19 16 63.0 66 33 11 20 55 4.80
Tanner Anderson R 27 7 8 5.04 28 17 109.0 122 61 15 41 66 5.05
Lou Trivino R 28 6 4 4.02 62 0 65.0 59 29 6 31 62 4.04
J.B. Wendelken R 27 6 5 4.18 59 1 71.0 67 33 9 28 72 4.15
Donnie Hart L 29 3 2 4.00 53 0 54.0 55 24 6 19 38 4.44
Brian Schlitter R 34 3 2 4.12 41 1 48.0 49 22 3 20 31 4.08
Ryan Buchter L 33 2 1 4.11 61 0 46.0 40 21 7 22 49 4.59
Matt Harvey R 31 5 7 5.51 22 20 101.3 114 62 21 31 80 5.33
Zack Erwin L 26 6 7 5.17 29 12 87.0 97 50 14 33 63 5.13
Zach Lee R 28 6 8 5.38 23 21 117.0 134 70 21 38 79 5.29
Parker Dunshee R 25 6 7 5.38 25 23 117.0 126 70 25 44 100 5.56
Ben Bracewell R 29 4 5 5.11 34 10 93.3 100 53 15 39 72 5.14
Dean Kiekhefer L 31 3 3 4.43 40 1 44.7 49 22 6 12 31 4.48
Logan Verrett R 30 3 4 5.13 27 7 66.7 69 38 13 25 56 5.34
Marco Estrada R 36 6 7 5.48 22 22 111.7 116 68 22 44 88 5.40
T.J. McFarland L 31 1 1 4.53 48 0 57.7 64 29 6 20 35 4.41
Cody Stull L 28 2 2 4.66 35 0 48.3 50 25 6 23 37 4.88
Miguel Romero R 26 2 3 4.79 44 1 67.7 68 36 11 32 64 4.95
Seth Martinez R 25 6 6 4.94 40 2 71.0 77 39 11 24 50 4.97
Eric Mariñez R 24 4 4 4.80 47 0 60.0 54 32 5 47 60 4.81
Jesus Zambrano R 23 3 4 4.91 44 1 69.7 76 38 10 28 49 5.02
John Gorman R 28 4 4 5.00 41 1 54.0 56 30 9 22 48 4.96
Jaime Schultz R 29 3 3 5.29 45 6 64.7 59 38 12 42 77 5.34
Ian Gardeck R 29 2 2 5.03 34 0 39.3 37 22 4 29 38 4.93
Lucas Luetge L 33 4 5 4.97 46 0 54.3 54 30 10 24 55 5.04
Matt Milburn R 26 7 9 5.72 25 23 133.7 162 85 27 35 70 5.72
Tyler J. Alexander L 28 5 6 5.77 27 15 87.3 92 56 19 48 84 5.91
James Naile R 27 7 9 5.79 25 23 129.0 154 83 24 49 70 5.82
Kyle Friedrichs R 28 5 7 5.88 24 20 111.7 133 73 24 38 67 5.98
Mitchell Jordan R 25 6 9 5.88 27 21 124.0 146 81 25 51 79 5.95
Wandisson Charles R 23 2 2 5.71 40 0 52.0 44 33 6 60 65 5.81
Jordan Weems R 27 2 3 5.92 39 1 51.7 53 34 9 37 50 5.83
Norge Ruiz R 26 4 6 5.97 31 8 86.0 105 57 18 32 50 6.03

Pitchers – Advanced
Player K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BB% K% BABIP ERA+ ERA- WAR No. 1 Comp
Frankie Montas 9.1 2.8 1.2 7.2% 23.9% .304 114 88 2.4 Paul Derringer
Sean Manaea 8.4 2.6 1.2 7.0% 22.2% .282 112 89 1.7 Tommy John
Liam Hendriks 12.4 2.5 1.0 7.0% 34.3% .296 149 67 1.6 Greg McMichael
Chris Bassitt 8.4 3.4 1.2 8.6% 21.4% .294 100 100 1.6 Slim Harriss
Jesus Luzardo 9.8 2.6 1.3 6.8% 25.9% .296 116 86 1.5 Mike Hampton
Daulton Jefferies 8.3 1.5 1.4 4.0% 22.4% .296 111 90 1.5 Paul Dean
Mike Fiers 6.9 2.6 1.7 6.8% 17.7% .280 91 109 1.2 Jim Lonborg
Daniel Mengden 7.1 3.0 1.4 7.8% 18.4% .285 94 107 1.2 Howie Fox
Paul Blackburn 5.9 2.6 1.4 6.5% 15.2% .293 90 111 1.0 Jack Russell
A.J. Puk 10.2 4.5 1.1 11.6% 25.9% .295 105 96 1.0 Curt Simmons
Grant Holmes 7.4 3.6 1.3 9.0% 18.8% .298 93 107 0.9 Ed Linke
Jake Diekman 12.1 5.8 0.7 14.5% 30.3% .293 125 80 0.8 Marshall Bridges
Yusmeiro Petit 8.1 1.6 1.4 4.5% 22.3% .276 114 88 0.7 Dick Hall
Daniel Gossett 6.8 3.4 1.4 8.6% 17.0% .296 89 112 0.7 Mike LaCoss
Brian Howard 6.9 3.3 1.6 8.3% 17.3% .300 85 118 0.6 Brian Moehler
Joakim Soria 9.9 3.0 1.1 8.0% 26.5% .293 114 87 0.6 Ted Wilks
James Kaprielian 7.9 2.9 1.6 7.3% 20.1% .299 92 109 0.6 Shawn Hill
Tanner Anderson 5.4 3.4 1.2 8.4% 13.6% .298 86 116 0.5 Tommie Sisk
Lou Trivino 8.6 4.3 0.8 11.0% 21.9% .293 108 93 0.5 Charlie Williams
J.B. Wendelken 9.1 3.5 1.1 9.1% 23.5% .299 104 96 0.4 Todd Williams
Donnie Hart 6.3 3.2 1.0 8.1% 16.2% .290 108 92 0.4 Leo Kiely
Brian Schlitter 5.8 3.8 0.6 9.5% 14.7% .297 105 95 0.3 Fred Gladding
Ryan Buchter 9.6 4.3 1.4 11.1% 24.6% .277 106 95 0.3 J.C. Romero
Matt Harvey 7.1 2.8 1.9 7.0% 18.0% .301 80 125 0.1 Joe Mays
Zack Erwin 6.5 3.4 1.4 8.5% 16.2% .303 84 119 0.2 Jason Cromer
Zach Lee 6.1 2.9 1.6 7.3% 15.2% .301 81 124 0.2 Pat Ahearne
Parker Dunshee 7.7 3.4 1.9 8.5% 19.3% .294 81 124 0.2 Jon Perlman
Ben Bracewell 6.9 3.8 1.4 9.4% 17.3% .297 85 118 0.2 Ed Klieman
Dean Kiekhefer 6.2 2.4 1.2 6.2% 16.1% .303 98 102 0.2 Erasmo Ramirez
Logan Verrett 7.6 3.4 1.8 8.5% 19.1% .287 85 118 0.1 Milo Candini
Marco Estrada 7.1 3.5 1.8 9.0% 18.0% .282 79 126 0.1 Aaron Sele
T.J. McFarland 5.5 3.1 0.9 7.9% 13.8% .304 97 103 0.1 Dave Tomlin
Cody Stull 6.9 4.3 1.1 10.6% 17.1% .297 93 107 0.0 Jim Brewer
Miguel Romero 8.5 4.3 1.5 10.6% 21.3% .298 91 110 -0.1 Rosman Garcia
Seth Martinez 6.3 3.0 1.4 7.7% 16.0% .296 88 114 -0.1 Pedro Borbon
Eric Mariñez 9.0 7.1 0.8 16.7% 21.4% .297 90 111 -0.1 Sam Nahem
Jesus Zambrano 6.3 3.6 1.3 9.0% 15.7% .299 88 113 -0.2 Ray Herbert
John Gorman 8.0 3.7 1.5 9.2% 20.1% .299 87 115 -0.2 Weston Weber
Jaime Schultz 10.7 5.8 1.7 14.2% 26.1% .294 82 122 -0.2 Jake Robbins
Ian Gardeck 8.7 6.6 0.9 15.8% 20.8% .300 86 116 -0.2 Gary Wagner
Lucas Luetge 9.1 4.0 1.7 10.0% 22.9% .297 87 115 -0.2 Mike Venafro
Matt Milburn 4.7 2.4 1.8 5.9% 11.8% .297 76 132 -0.3 Andrew Baldwin
Tyler J. Alexander 8.7 4.9 2.0 12.0% 20.9% .298 75 133 -0.3 Scott Forster
James Naile 4.9 3.4 1.7 8.4% 11.9% .298 75 133 -0.4 Jim Magrane
Kyle Friedrichs 5.4 3.1 1.9 7.5% 13.3% .296 74 136 -0.5 Don August
Mitchell Jordan 5.7 3.7 1.8 9.0% 13.9% .300 74 136 -0.5 Marcus Jones
Wandisson Charles 11.3 10.4 1.0 23.1% 25.0% .302 76 132 -0.7 Rich Pratt
Jordan Weems 8.7 6.4 1.6 15.2% 20.5% .303 73 137 -0.7 Darin Moore
Norge Ruiz 5.2 3.3 1.9 8.1% 12.7% .302 73 138 -0.7 Darrell Coulter

Players are listed with their most recent teams wherever possible. This includes players who are unsigned, players who will miss 2020 due to injury, and players who were released in 2019. So yes, if you see Joe Schmoe, who quit baseball back in June to form a ska-cowpunk Luxembourgian bubblegum pop-death metal band, he’s still listed here intentionally.

Both hitters and pitchers are ranked by projected zWAR — which is to say, WAR values as calculated by me, Dan Szymborski, whose surname is spelled with a z. WAR values might differ slightly from those which appear in the full release of ZiPS. Finally, I will advise anyone against — and might karate chop anyone guilty of — merely adding up WAR totals on a depth chart to produce projected team WAR.

ZiPS is agnostic about future playing time by design. For more information about ZiPS, please refer to this article.





Dan Szymborski is a senior writer for FanGraphs and the developer of the ZiPS projection system. He was a writer for ESPN.com from 2010-2018, a regular guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts, and a voting BBWAA member. He also maintains a terrible Twitter account at @DSzymborski.

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sadtrombonemember
4 years ago

I think the A’s should trade for Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson, just to rub some salt in the wound. Big upgrade on Robbie Grossman and a moderate one on Mike Fiers, who got hit very hard last year (take a look at the batted ball data on him, it’s scary).

Okay, maybe not, but it would be a great story.