The Oakland A’s have always done things small. They are a relatively small market. When they have elite talent, it does not get much shine. When they are rebuilding and build up a robust farm system, they don’t get as much hype as the likes of the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves. People forget that they are amongst the franchise leaders with nine World Series titles. And when they are excellent, not many people notice.

The A’s have been the biggest surprise in the MLB this season, but it has gone under-the-radar. You can say they are the smallest biggest surprise in recent years. Like the Braves and Phillies, the A’s were viewed as a rebuilding team with young talent in the majors and minors that was still a year or two away from legitimate contention. But like those two team, they have arrived earlier than expected. But unlike those two team, it has been done quietly, and the casual fan may not have noticed.

Maybe it’s because the A’s are only in third place. But that’s because the two teams ahead of them are two of the four best teams in the game (record-wise). The Athletics are 58-43, which would be first in three other divisions across baseball. They have made up a lot of ground on the Seattle Mariners and now sit just 2.5  games behind the Seattle Mariners for 2^nd in the AL West and for the second wild-card spot.

They are 30-15 since May 31^st and 23-7 in the last 30 games, which makes them the hottest team in baseball. Maybe we should have seen this coming because the A’s did finish 17-7 last season and their young players made strides. But it still makes it somewhat shocking that they have the sixth-best record in the game. It’s sure fun.

The A’s don’t have that one bonafide star or superstar player, or at least not yet. The franchise has a ton of youth, and the success has come as all 25 guys doing it as a collection. A true team with each player bringing a different aspect to the table to help.

They have a top-10 offense, a mediocre starting rotation that has a 4.29 ERA, a pretty good 3.56 bullpen ERA, and a middle-of-the-pack defense. And they are doing this while playing in perhaps the best division the sport.

And things are still looking up. The core of the rotation is relatively young, with more arms in the minors. They have had some surprises, like Frankie Montas and Trevor Cahill, although the small sample sizes are small. The team has had to rely on Sean Mannae to front the rotation, and he has a 3.38 ERA in 130.1 innings. They can no doubt use a legitimate ace, but the staff is young, and their future ‘ace’ A.J. Puk had Tommy John earlier in the season.

The bullpen has been steady and anchored by perhaps the best reliever in the MLB this season in Blake Treinen, who has a 1.98 ERA. 1.000 WHIP and 64 strikeouts in 50 innings. And again, not many are noticing his excellent season. Speaking of which, Lou Trivino has quietly posted a 1.36 ERA and 54 Ks in 46.1 innings to give the A’s another late-inning guy to help bridge the gap to Treinen.

And the offense is starting to come around, averaging 5.3 runs per game, and hitting six-plus runs in 40% of the games. It has been anchored by veterans Khris Davis and Jed Lowrie, along with young cornerstones Matt Olson and Matt Chapman.

Although he does not get on base as much as you’d like, Khris Davis is an excellent power source for the team, and a dangerous right-handed bat in the middle of the lineup. Jed Lowrie has cooled off since a hot start to 2018, but he made the All-Star team and now has 16 home runs to go with his .831 OPS.

But let’s talk about the ‘Matts’ on the team, Matt Chapman, and Matt Olson, who may be the best young corner infield tandem in the game. According to FanGraphs, third baseman Matt Chapman has graded out as the best defensive player in baseball, not just his position. Nolan Arenado may finally have competition for the ‘best defensive third baseman’ title.

Chapman has an above-average .797 OPS,  with 11 home runs, and his aforementioned elite defense. But is offensive potential is high, and we have seen in recent weeks. He has a .898 OPS in his last 30 games, and .954 OPS over the past week. The A’s may finally have found a replacement for Josh Donaldson with the 25-year-old.

Matt Olson is the other half of the 1B-3B tandem. The first baseman has 21 home runs on the season along with playing good defense. His .790 OPS. OPS may not be great, but it’s above-average, and he’s only 24. And like Chapman, Olson may finally be realizing his potential, slugging seven homers and posting a .845 Ops in his last 30 games.

But he still has room for improvement. His .275 f BABIP  is below the league average of around .300. Perhaps his most important stats are the type of contact he is making. According to Baseball Savant, the 24-year-old is top 1% in the league with a phenomenal 54.8% hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of 94 mph. He combines that with an average launch angle of 18.4%. So he is doing everything right to be a good hitter and hit for power. He has been better than his season numbers and is more likely to stay close to his recent numbers and get even better.

And for a relatively young team, they are outstanding on the road (32-21 which is a 98-win pace), which is what separates good from great. The Athletics are catching up to the Mariners and this hast he makings of an excellent wild-card race between two really good teams.

The most exciting aspect of the team, however, is that they are just getting started. The A’s have tons of young talent with more in the minors still to be called up. And they are built to last. The Fisher Family bought out Lewis Wolff’s remaining stake in the team (was strongly disliked in the city) and they might be willing to pay the players instead of perpetually selling them off and going into a rebuild.

It’s time to recognize the Oakland A’s as one of the best teams in baseball, and the scary part is that this is just the start.

Featured Image via Flickr/vpking

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