Aaron Cunningham and Josh Outman
by cool hand Charlie on Nov 15, 2008 11:39 AM EST
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PrintWhere do these two guys fit into Oakland's long term plans?
Cunningham played great as a 22 year old in AA. Everything I have read says that he doesn't have any great tools. But he does everything well. The A's just moved Carlos Gonzalez, so does this open up CF for Cunningham? After the way Buck played at the end of the season, they have to give him a shot in the OF to start. Does Cunningham need more time in the minors? 22 is young for MLB, but with the numbers he posted in the minors last year....does he really have anything more to learn?
Outman supposedly features a nice 90-94 mph fastball and pretty decent secondary stuff. He was one of the guys acquired in the Blanton trade with Philly. It seems that He was a starter in Philly, but was then moved to the pen, and after being traded to Oakland, coverted back to a starting pitcher. I would imagine with the A's having such high-end SP's on their way to the majors...Outman's long term place with the team is in the bullpen(maybe as a lefty specialist). Does this seem accurate? I have to imagine that the rotation next year to start the season would be Justin Duchscherer, Dana Eveland, Dallas Braden, Sean Gallagher and ___________?
Any thoughts on either of these two guys would be interesting to me. What are their ceilings? What are their floors?
A's fans, i know there are a ton of you here, lets hear your thoughts!
CHC
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After Cahil, Anderson, Inoa, Simmons, Mazzaro, Gonzalez, Gallagher, Leon
and bullpen arms like Blevins, Devine, Ziegler, H-Rod, Demel, Carignan
I don’t see any much room for Outman other than a lefty specialist.
As of right now, I believe Sweeney has CF on lock, and Buck and Cunningham will probably fight for RF, maybe end up platooning?
A little early to think about Inoa
By which I mean it’s a lot early to think about Inoa.
Aaron Cunningham
Not a very high ceiling guy, but I love his swing.
He’ll probably hit enough to find his way into the lineup somewhere.
People say he doesnt have a high ceiling..
but he just hits everywhere he goes.
"With 16-year-old Dominican righty Michel Inoa in tow, Gio Gonzalez improving at Triple-A and lefty Brett Anderson carving up Double-Abatters along with Simmons and Trevor Cahill, Oakland’s pitching depthis officially the envy of baseball." - BaseballAmerica.com
outman
at worst he looks like a lefty in bp to pair up with blevins..he was topping out at 95-97
he had a few starts towards the end throwing 93-95
so the velocity is there, needs more work on secondary pitches even though ive read reports about a plus slider
their projected rotation as of now is duke/eveland/gallagher/gio . outman i think he’ll be in the mix among guys to replace smith with braden also. thats unless they try to add a veteran sp or suddenly cahill , anderson, mazzaro, simmons surprise in spring training, but probably unlikely
Outman has serious gas, but command issues
Hard to tell with those guys. He could be a Jonathan Sanchez type.
Cunningham could probably use another half-season in AAA, since he wasn’t great in his September callup, but I think he’s quality long-term. He’s consistently succeeded everywhere he’s played and I think the “tools” concerns are frankly silly at this point.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Cunningham in the Rusty Greer class of player?
You know, except right-handed and trading a little flair/hospitalization for a little power.
I see Cunningham being a regular in the A's lineup
It might come to start next year, or maybe mid season. For sure starting in 2010. And I think that if the A’s had the choice of playing Ryan Sweeney and Aaron Cunningham, they’d pick Cunningham. Even if they put up the same numbers, Cunningham is right handed, and the A’s don’t have many of those.
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