by Bill Craig / A’s Farm Nashville Correspondent
The Nashville Sounds are set to kick off their fourth season as the A’s Triple-A affiliate on Thursday night on the road in New Orleans with right-hander James Naile on the mound.
A few familiar faces will be missing from the Sounds squad this season as some fan favorites from 2017 like Matt Olson, Matt Chapman and Boog Powell have all graduated to the major league roster. But Nashville’s 2018 roster does include 13 experienced players with major league experience and 7 of the A’s top 30 prospects according to Baseball America.
22-year-old infielder Franklin Barreto leads the squad as the organization’s #2 prospect according to Baseball America. He slashed .290/.339/.456 with 54 RBI, 63 runs, 41 extra-base hits and 15 stolen bases in 111 games while playing shortstop and second base for the Sounds last season. Barreto also homered in his first big league game for the A’s last June, and we could be getting the chance to see a future major league All-Star here in Nashville again this year.
Other top A’s prospects joining Barreto in Nashville this season include shortstop Jorge Mateo (#3 according to Baseball America), center fielder Dustin Fowler (#4), infielder Sheldon Neuse (#14), RHP Frankie Montas (#21), outfielder B.J. Boyd (#24) and RHP James Naile (#26).
Mateo and Fowler both came to Oakland from the Yankees as part of the Sonny Gray trade last summer. The 22-year-old Mateo slashed .267/.322/.459, collected 60 extra-base hits and swiped 52 bases while playing with three different minor league teams in 2017. The 23-year-old Fowler suffered a season-ending knee injury in his major league debut with the Yankees last June after having slashed .293/.329/.542 in 70 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year.
The hot-hitting Neuse, 23, was acquired from the Nationals last summer in the Ryan Madson/Sean Doolittle deal and slashed an impressive .321/.382/.502 while playing for three minor league teams last season and was also named a South Atlantic League All-Star in 2017. The flame-throwing Montas, 25, split time between Oakland and Nashville last season and had his share of struggles at both stops, posting a 7.03 ERA for the A’s while putting up a 5.22 ERA for the Sounds, despite registering a combined 73 strikeouts over 61 1/3 innings for both teams.
Bay Area native Boyd, 24, slashed .323/.366/.428 with 82 runs and 56 RBI for Double-A Midland in 2017 and was a Texas League All-Star. Naile, 25, missed significant time in 2017 due to injury but ended up posting a solid 3.30 ERA in 18 games for Midland, Stockton and the AZL A’s last season.
As mentioned, the Sounds will have several players with significant major league experience on their 2018 squad. A well-known former A’s hurler, right-hander Trevor Cahill, was re-signed by Oakland on March 19. He won 40 games for Oakland from 2009-2011 and was an American League All-Star in 2010. He’s set to start the year working out of the rotation in Nashville until the A’s feel that he’s ready to join the major league squad. Another familiar former A’s hurler, lefty Brett Anderson, was re-signed by the A’s on March 20. He’s won 42 games over a nine-year major league career and is expected to work out of the Sounds rotation, providing additional pitching depth for the major league squad.
Sounds manager Fran Riordan led the Double-A Midland Rockhounds to their fourth straight Texas League Championship last year, and he’ll be managing at the Triple-A level for the first time in 2018, while long-time pitching coach Rick Rodriguez and hitting coach Eric Martins will each be returning to the Sounds for another season.
2018 looks to be an exciting year for the Nashville Sounds with a number of promising infield prospects on the squad and some familiar and experienced names on the mound, as well as several players who are likely to find themselves contributing at the major league level for the A’s later in the season.
While the Sounds kick off their season in New Orleans on Thursday night, Nashville fans can look forward to the team’s home opener against Iowa on Tuesday, April 10 at First Tennessee Park in Nashville.
You can check out the Nashville Sounds’ complete opening day roster here.
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