by Brian Fonseca / A’s Farm Contributor
Las Vegas put up a winning record of 18-11 in August and ended up clinching the division title as well as a playoff berth on September 1. And the team will now face off against a former A’s affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, in a five-game playoff series starting on Wednesday. The hot-hitting Aviators finished the regular season with a team slash line of .299/.372/.533.
Outfielder Mark Payton
It would be awfully hard for the 27-year old outfielder to top his sizzling July when he posted an impressive slash line of .378/.440/.902, but he did follow up with a hot August during which he slashed .348/.411/.705 for the Aviators. Payton nearly duplicated his July home run and RBI totals, hitting 10 home runs in August after belting 11 in July and compiling 25 RBIs in August after posting 26 in July. The former 7th-round draft pick of the Yankees has tormented right-handed pitching all season, slashing .357/.417/.697 with 24 of his 30 home runs coming vs. righties in 2019. Payton’s previous career-high in home runs occurred during the 2016 season when he slugged a total of 10. Payton finished the 2019 season in the top four in the PCL in batting average (.334), slugging percentage (.653) and OPS (1.053).
First Baseman/Outfielder Seth Brown
Before Brown made an impressive debut for the A’s during the final week of August, the left-handed slugger had been on quite a tear at Triple-A. In just 22 games for the Aviators in August, the former 19th-round draft pick clobbered 10 home runs and collected 27 RBIs while slashing .321/.390/.738 for Las Vegas. Brown showed signs of things to come when he led the California League with 30 home runs back in 2017 before leading the Texas League with 38 doubles in 2018.
Third Baseman Sheldon Neuse
The PCL’s hits leader in 2019 with 158, Neuse was in the midst of another stellar month when he was called up to Oakland on the 29th of August. In 25 games for Las Vegas during the month, Neuse slugged 8 home runs and collected 17 RBIs while slashing .295/.385/.589 for the Aviators. In 2019, Neuse particularly thrived against lefties, slashing .391/.464/.684 vs. southpaws. A former college shortstop and a 2nd-round pick of the Nationals in 2016, Neuse played all around the diamond in Las Vegas, appearing in 96 games at third base, 16 games at second base, 9 games at shortstop and even 3 games in the outfield.
Starting Pitcher Paul Blackburn
In the second half of the season, Blackburn seemed to regain the form that he exhibited in 2017 when he turned in an ERA of 3.22 over 10 starts for the A’s. Over 28 innings for the Aviators in August, Blackburn went 3-0 in 5 outings while compiling an ERA of 3.54 to go along with a 1.18 WHIP for Las Vegas. And on the season, Blackburn’s 4.34 ERA was good for fourth best in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Relief Pitcher Kyle Finnegan
2013’s 6th-round draft pick for the A’s, RHP Kyle Finnegan, has enjoyed his finest season in 2019. And in August, Finnegan recorded 3 saves in 3 attempts while striking out 9 and walking just 1 in 7.1 innings of work for the Aviators. And over 50.2 combined innings this season for Las Vegas and Midland, Finnegan notched 72 strikeouts while converting 14 of 16 save opportunities and posting an ERA of 2.31 and a WHIP of 1.14.
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