Meet Your 2019 Las Vegas Aviators!

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor

During baseball’s long winter, plenty of folks spend plenty of time trying to figure out what their favorite major league team’s roster might end up looking like come opening day. And in recent years, it’s been a fun exercise around this point in the offseason for us take a look ahead at what the A’s Triple-A affiliate’s roster might look like when the minor league schedule gets underway.

For the past four seasons, Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate was located across the country in Nashville. But this season, the A’s Triple-A team will begin play in nearby Las Vegas, in a brand new ballpark currently being built in the Sin City suburb of Summerlin.

As far as the A’s major league roster is concerned, there aren’t really that many questions left to be answered on the position player front, but the makeup of the pitching staff still remains in flux. And the same seems to hold true for the Triple-A roster, with many of the position players pretty well set for the Aviators, while there’s still a lot left to be sorted out when it comes to the team’s pitching staff.

Promising players like catcher Sean Murphy, shortstop Jorge Mateo and third baseman Sheldon Neuse are sure to start the season in the Las Vegas lineup. And top prospects Franklin Barreto, Dustin Fowler and Jesus Luzardo could all start the season in Sin City as well if they don’t end up making the A’s opening day roster.

Manager Fran Riordan will be returning for his second season as skipper of the team’s top affiliate. Rick Rodriguez and Eric Martins will reprise their roles as pitching coach and hitting coach, respectively, with former scout Craig Conklin also joining the team as an additional coach.

In recent years, the A’s have typically liked to carry 12 position players and 13 pitchers on each of the major and minor league rosters. At this point, it’s still quite likely that there will be more trades, free agent signings and unexpected injuries to have to factor into the equation. But as things stand now, let’s take a look at the players who are most likely to find themselves filling out the Las Vegas Aviators opening day roster in 2019.

 

CATCHERS

With Chris Herrmann and Josh Phegley currently set as the A’s catching corps, top prospect Sean Murphy and minor league veteran Beau Taylor appear to be ticketed as this year’s Triple-A catching tandem. The 24-year-old Murphy, who spent most of last season at the Double-A level, is probably just a year or less away from taking over as the A’s starting catcher. Always known for his strong arm and solid defense behind the dish, Murphy showed his prowess at the plate by slashing .288/.358/.498 last season for Midland. The 28-year-old Taylor finally made his major league debut for the A’s last September after spending eight seasons paying his dues in the minors, and he represents an experienced option should the A’s find themselves in need of another backstop during the season. Meanwhile, Jonah Heim should pick up where he left off last season as the primary receiver for Double-A Midland.

 

INFIELDERS

The Las Vegas infield could find itself littered with plenty of potentially intriguing prospects this season. With no clear starting position available to him at the major league level, long-time top prospect Franklin Barreto will be fighting for the final roster spot as a utility man with the A’s this spring. But Barreto will be just 23 on opening day and does still have options left. So, if all the A’s key position players remain healthy, it’s quite possible that Barreto could find himself starting the season back at Triple-A. And if he does, then he’s likely to find most of his starts at second base, where there’s no other clear option at the moment. The left side of the infield should be a repeat of what we saw last season at Nashville, with 23-year-old Jorge Mateo set to serve as the starting shortstop and 24-year-old Sheldon Neuse expected to hold down the hot corner once again. Both struggled a bit in their Triple-A debuts last year, but the pair of promising players should be in a good position to improve their performances in their second seasons in the Pacific Coast League. First base should be covered by a combination of Seth Brown, who slashed .283/.342/.454 for Double-A Midland last season while leading the Texas League with 38 doubles, and veteran minor league free agent signee Eric Campbell, who’s appeared in 196 major league games for the Mets and put up a .313/.420/.445 slash line for Triple-A New Orleans last year. Both are also capable of filling in in the outfield and could see some time in the designated hitter slot as well. Minor league Rule-5 draftee Corban Joseph is also expected to start the season on the Triple-A roster. Joseph could fill in at second, third or first, but if Barreto manages to make the major league roster, then the 30-year-old minor league veteran could step in as the Aviators’ starting second baseman. Meanwhile, fellow minor league Rule-5 pickup, first baseman Anthony Miller, is likely to find himself holding down first base for Double-A Midland.

 

OUTFIELDERS

If Nick Martini, who put up a .397 on-base percentage in 55 games for Oakland last season, ends up reclaiming the left-handed-hitting half of the A’s left field platoon this year, then outfielder Dustin Fowler is likely to start the 2019 season back at Triple-A, patrolling center field for the Aviators. While Fowler struggled at the plate in 69 games for the A’s last season, he put up an impressive .341/.364/.520 slash line for Triple-A Nashville last year. Minor league Rule-5 pickup Mark Payton, who spent plenty of time playing alongside Fowler in the Yankees’ minor league system and slashed .259/.368/.401 for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, should see lots of time in left field for Las Vegas this year. And if everything shapes up as expected and everyone remains healthy, then there could be room for just two more outfielders on the Las Vegas roster, with first basemen Seth Brown and Eric Campbell also capable of doing duty in the outfield if needed. Former 4th-round draft pick Skye Bolt, who is on the A’s 40-man roster and impressed in the Arizona Fall League last year, is the most likely candidate to claim one of those spots. And if center fielder Fowler is on the roster, then Bolt could end up getting most of his starts in right field this year. That leaves Luis Barrera, who’s also on the 40-man roster but has seen just 36 games at the Double-A level, and Tyler Ramirez, who’s not on the 40-man roster but has logged 192 games at Double-A, to battle it out for the final outfield spot. Of course, if any unexpected injuries should occur, then they could both end up opening the season at Triple-A. But either way, both Barrera and Ramirez are likely to find themselves spending time in the Las Vegas outfield before the season’s through.

 

STARTING PITCHERS

As is the case with the A’s, the starting rotation is probably the biggest question mark for Las Vegas at this stage of the game. Of course, the look of the Aviators’ rotation will depend heavily on how the A’s starting pitching situation shakes out. If the season were to open today, the A’s starting rotation would likely include righties Mike Fiers, Daniel Mengden, Frankie Montas and Chris Bassitt, with Paul Blackburn, Aaron Brooks and Jesus Luzardo all in line to compete for the final rotation spot. Mengden, Montas, Bassitt and Brooks are all out of options, so they’d have to clear waivers in order to be sent back to Triple-A. It seems unlikely that Mengden, Montas or Bassitt could clear waivers, but Brooks could possibly make it through if he should fail to make the major league roster, and Brooks seems exactly like the kind of pitcher the A’s would love to have in reserve at Triple-A if needed. Blackburn, who does have options left and missed most of last season due to injury, would seem a likely candidate to start the season at Triple-A while he gets back in the groove after being sidelined for so long last year. And while Luzardo is clearly the most talented arm in the A’s system, he’s still only 21 and has just four Triple-A starts under his belt. And recent comments from A’s VP of baseball operations Billy Beane make it sound like the front office wouldn’t mind letting Luzardo start the year getting a little more seasoning at Triple-A while also giving the team the chance to delay his service clock and gain an extra year of control over the scintillating southpaw. Besides Brooks, Blackburn and Luzardo, there are a half-dozen other possible candidates for the Aviators’ starting rotation. The A’s signed right-handed starter Jake Buchanan and left-handed starter Kyle Lobstein, both of whom have major league experience, to minor league deals in the offseason. Oakland also acquired right-handed reliever Tanner Anderson from the Pirates for 18-year-old Dominican right-hander Wilkin Ramos, and general manager David Forst later announced that the team intended to turn Anderson into a starter. Meanwhile, right-hander James Naile was solid in 24 starts for Triple-A Nashville last season, and righties Parker Dunshee and Brian Howard both impressed at Double-A last year while appearing more dominant than any other starters in the system outside of Luzardo. Promising prospect Grant Holmes missed most of last season due to injury and, if healthy, it’s likely that he’ll start the season at Stockton, where the A’s can keep a little closer eye on him, and where other promising pitchers also returning from injury like James Kaprielian and Daulton Jefferies could start the season as well. But if Holmes remains healthy, then he should find his way into the Triple-A rotation before long. And while Jharel Cotton, Daniel Gossett and A.J. Puk, all of whom are making their way back from Tommy John surgery, aren’t expected to make it back on the mound until sometime after the start of the season, each could very well find himself pitching in Las Vegas at some point before the season’s through. But between Brooks, Blackburn, Luzardo, Buchanan, Lobstein, Anderson, Naile, Dunshee and Howard, there should be no shortage of strong candidates for the Aviators’ starting rotation when the 2019 season gets underway.

 

RELIEF PITCHERS

It seems likely that some of Las Vegas’s numerous rotation candidates just might find themselves starting the season working out of the Aviators’ bullpen while waiting for a starting spot to open up. But there will be plenty of other arms competing for a spot in the Triple-A team’s bullpen as well. While Oakland re-signed southpaw Dean Kiekhefer to a minor league contract, the A’s also inked lefty Kyle Crockett and righty Brian Schlitter, both of whom have major league experience, to minor league deals, and all three should be assured of spots in the Vegas ‘pen. Liam Hendriks, whom Oakland seems to like in the newly-created “opener” role, and J.B. Wendelken, who impressed in a late-season call-up, look like the leading candidates to claim the last two spots in the major league bullpen. So, if everyone remains healthy, that could mean that Ryan Dull, who still has options left, and Andrew Triggs, who’s set to return to a relief role after returning from thoracic outlet surgery, will be likely to start the season working out of the bullpen in Las Vegas. That would leave a number of candidates like Sam Bragg, Kyle Finnegan, John Gorman, Miguel Romero, Joel Seddon and Corey Walter, all righties, fighting for the final few spots on the Vegas staff. Bragg, Finnegan, Gorman and Romero all spent plenty of time pitching out of the bullpen for Double-A Midland last season. Seddon and Walter toiled in the Texas League as well last year, both starting and relieving for the RockHounds, and both hurlers could be capable of serving on the Aviators’ staff in long relief and as spot starters if needed.

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