Team-by-Team Fantasy Projections: Oakland Athletics

Here are the 2016 MLB fantasy projections for the Oakland Athletics (ZiPS projections courtesy Dan Szymborski; Steamer projections courtesy Jared Cross, Dash Davidson and Peter Rosenbloom; Zeile projections courtesy FantasyPros):

Hitters

C Stephen Vogt

Vogt had a wonderful first half en route to 18 home runs and 71 RBI, easily career highs. He had arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in February, but is expected to be ready for the beginning of the season. He has big power upside but fatigue and injury are concerns after his poor second half.

1B Yonder Alonso

Alonso only struck out 11.9% of the time with the Padres in 2015. That said, the power hasn't developed - he has only 12 home runs over the past two seasons, though neither was a full schedule. He's only made it through a full season once, in 2012, and even then he only hit 12 dingers. Projections indicate he's not about to make a big jump.

2B Jed Lowrie

And back to Oakland goes Lowrie. With a full time role, and his health, Lowrie's ultimate upside is probably 15 home runs - his total in 2013 with the A's. Projections are a bit more conservative after a somewhat lost season in 2015, though he did manage nine home runs in 263 plate appearances. He has virtually no speed, so he remains a one-dimensional depth option.

3B Danny Valencia

Valencia had one of his best offensive stretches in his career after joining the A's for 47 games last summer. He hit 11 home runs and posted a slash line of .284/.356/.530. Other than his sophomore season in 2011 with Minnesota, Valencia has been more of a utility man. His power surge will give him a starting job heading into spring training, enhancing his fantasy value.

SS Marcus Semien

Fortunately for fantasy owners, standard leagues do not count defensive metrics because Semien was a disaster at shortstop in 2015. At the plate, Semien offers decent power and some speed. He might not be an elite middle infielder, but he certainly has value.

LF Khris Davis

Davis was acquired by the Athletics from Milwaukee in February, and is expected to serve as the everyday left fielder. Davis easily has the most home-run pop on the Oakland roster, and could approach 30 homers even with half his games in a cavernous stadium. The trade makes him a solid mid-round pick in mixed leagues and a top-25 OF in AL-only formats.

CF Billy Burns

Burns hit .294 with a .334 OBP in his first full season in the majors. Once on base, Burns' true value was realized, as he stole 26 bases. Projections suggest he will top this number in 2016. Hitting atop the lineup will give him opportunities to stretch singles into doubles and to lead the team in runs. Once his overall sample size grows, his true worth will be clearer.

RF Josh Reddick

It's increasingly likely that the 32 home runs Reddick hit in 2012 was an outlier. He's swinging his bat less, too. Since his breakout campaign, his strike out rate has dipped from a high of 22.4 per cent to a low of 11.2 per cent last season en route to his highest career OBP (.333). Some power and speed will go a long way, making him a decent late-round mixed-league flier.

DH Billy Butler

Butler looks like he should hit 30-plus home runs per year, doesn't he? And yet, he has never done it. Butler makes a lot of contact, though, and usually hits for a decent average; he could rebound into a utility option in AL-only leagues or deep mixed leagues.

Pitchers

RHP Sonny Gray

Gray finished third in AL Cy Young voting on the strength of a 2.73 ERA. He doesn't quite strike out a batter per inning, but he made up for that with a low ERA and 14 wins - no one else on the staff had more than seven. It's a flawed stat, but Gray put his team in a position to win games more than anyone else on the team and should do so again in 2016.

RHP Jesse Hahn

Hahn had decent success over 16 starts in 2015, posting a 3.35 ERA while striking out six per nine innings. He saw his walk rate shrink from the year before (in San Diego) and seems to have earned a spot in Oakland's rotation. Nothing beyond Gray is set in stone, but Hahn could be targeted late in AL-only leagues.

RHP Kendall Graveman

The A's feature a few pitchers who won't be relevant to fantasy owners, at least not right away. Graveman's projected stats won't entice people to draft him, and neither will his pedestrian numbers from 21 starts in 2015. He, or one of his peers, could lose time to Henderson Alvarez, who signed in December.

RHP Chris Bassitt

Bassitt may jump between the rotation and the bullpen, but figures to start a large chunk of his scheduled turns through the order. He could develop into a reliable innings eater, but he doesn't project to strike out many - compared to his peers - and will likely go undrafted in fantasy leagues.

LHP Rich Hill

Hill strung together the best four-start stretch of his career in a late-season appearance in Boston in 2015, with a 1.55 ERA over 29 innings. He had solid command, walking only five batters while striking out 36. As a back end of the rotation arm, you could do worse, but those numbers are clearly not sustainable for a full season.

Closer

LHP Sean Doolittle

Doolittle, more or less, had a lost season in 2015, as he fought the injury bug from day one. His walk rate was way up and his K/9 was down in limited action, but that likely doesn't tell the tale. Expectations will be modest, since he's never had a full season as Oakland's closer. If he winds up on the shelf, both Ryan Madson and John Axford have closer experience.