Draft preview: Oakland Athletics outlook

Team-by-team outlooks

The A's might have changed skippers, but they'll likely try to do the same things they did last year on their way to the ALCS for the first time since 1992. Bob Geren takes over at the helm, who also lost their staff ace to cross-bay rival San Francisco.

They also replace on aging DH veteran (Frank Thomas) with another (Mike Piazza), but the latter's departure from behind the plate should mean a boon for his Fantasy stats. He'll no longer need to squat 150 times a game, deal with the tools of ignorance (mask, chest protector and shinguards) or call a game defensively with his pitching staff. Oakland is a pitcher's park with spacious foul territories, but Piazza should still be able to capitalize on his first season in the AL.

One important item to note is that the young pitching staff led by Rich Harden, Dan Haren and Joe Blanton will still be taught by pitching coach Curt Young for the fourth consecutive season. This staff loses Barry Zito and they chose to just move everyone in the rotation up one spot rather than bring in an expensive free agent ace. That means they need Harden to stay healthy -- not an easy feat for someone that has had oblique, back and elbow problems in recent years. In his four major-league seasons, Harden has thrown more than 130 innings only once (2004).

But Blanton is entering his third year as a starting pitcher. He actually took a step back last year, as many sophomore pitchers do after a successful rookie campaign. Normally, you'd shake it off as just a bump in the road. But his k/bb ratio (1.84) was bad and his ERA climbed more than a full run. Only gamble on him late in your mixed league drafts, but if he starts slow, feel free to cut him for a hot free agent.

Only seven teams stole fewer bases than the Athletics last year (61) and we don't expect that to change much under Geren. He was formerly Ken Macha's bench coach.

Milton Bradley enters his second season with Oakland, but shoulder tendinitis and other ailments limited him to under 100 games played for the second straight season. A healthy season from him could mean plenty to the hitters around him in this lineup.

Another A's hitter who could use a healthy season is shortstop Bobby Crosby. His talent promises plenty of upside, but he also hasn't played over 100 games since his rookie of the year effort in 2004. His penchant for landing on the DL puts him in the second tier of shortstops, which means you could score a solid middle infielder without risking much of a draft pick.

Shannon Stewart could end up playing left field if Dan Johnson is unable to rebound from his disappointing season last year. If that happens Nick Swisher would move back from left field to play first base again.

Spring position battles

Fifth starting pitcher -- Brad Halsey, Joe Kennedy vs. Jason Windsor

Most of the positions on this team have been solidified entering camp, but the exit of Zito opens up a rotation spot in the back end. The only Fantasy leaguers concerned over this battle should be AL-only owners. And even those owners are scraping the barrel.

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