Athletics series preview: The two worst teams in baseball

It has been a nightmare season for A’s fans. The team has been frugal for decades, but they have taken it to ridiculous extremes this year with a laughably bad roster that is barreling towards the worst record in club history in over 100 years and the third-worst record by any team in the expansion era. To add salt to the wound, the team has announced plans to move to Las Vegas, which, if approved by MLB, could happen after the 2024 season, ending 56 years of Oakland Athletics baseball.

Kansas City Royals (40-86) vs. Oakland Athletics (34-90) at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA

Royals: 4.01 runs scored/game (27th in MLB), 5.33 runs allowed/game (28th)

Athletics: 3.56 runs scored/game (30th in MLB), 6.01 runs allowed/game (30th)

Unlike the Royals, who have played a bit better the last month, the A’s seem to be getting worse. They have lost 27 of their last 36 games and haven’t won a three-game series since mid -July. They have gotten younger in the last few weeks, trading away veterans Jace Peterson and Sam Moll and releasing outfielder Ramon Laureano. They have the most innings pitched and second-most plate appearances in baseball by players with rookie eligibility.

That has given opportunities to prospects like catcher/first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, first baseman/outfielder Lawrence Butler, and infielder Zack Gelof, although they have had mixed results out of the gate. Former Royals outfielder Brent Rooker had a hot April, but has hit just .218/.291/.393 since then. Former Royals farmhand Esteury Ruiz leads the American League in steals, but hasn’t hit much, has been dreadful in the outfield, and has been benched much of the last week in favor of Butler.

As a team, the A’s hit the fifth-fewest home runs, but have the fifth-highest strikeout rate. They have the lowest batting average in baseball at .223 and the lowest slugging percentage at .364.

Paul Blackburn was the lone A’s All-Star last year and he has been their best pitcher this year. He has a 2.10 ERA over his last five starts, including seven shutout innings against the Cardinals his last time out. He relies on a sinker/cutter/slider combination to induce a 40 percent groundball rate.

Kyle Muller has really struggled with the A’s since being acquired from the Braves in the Sean Murphy deal, and was recently recalled last week after a stint to the minors. The 6’7’’ lefty has had his fastball hit hard - opponents are hitting .414 against it with a .690 slugging percentage. He throws his 93 mph heater half the time, mixing in a slider and curve.

Luis Medina was acquired from the Yankees in the Frankie Montas trade last summer and has pitched much better since the All-Star break with a 3.42 ERA in six games. His breaking stuff has been pretty effective, but his 96 mph fastball has been hit and he has walked too many hitters this year.

The A’s have a bullpen ERA of 5.81, easily worst in the league, and on pace for the second-worst bullpen ERA by any team in the last 20 years (behind the 2021 Orioles). They have the highest walk rate and the third-lowest walk rate, and have allowed 40 percent of inherited runners to score, second-most in baseball. Trevor May is the highest-paid player on the roster, but got off to an awful start. He has pitched better since the start of July with a 2.92 ERA over that time, although he blew up to give up five runs last week against the Nationals. Lucas Erceg throws in the high-90s and has a high strikeout rate but has given up 13 walks and 24 runs over his last 16 ²⁄₃ innings.

The Royals are playing a bit better while the A’s look worse than ever, so this should be a golden opportunity to win a road series if not outright sweep. But really these are two teams in the basement, trying to sift through a terrible roster to find some talent to provide hope for the future. At least Royals fans can be confident their team won’t be going anywhere. Unfortunately A’s fans can’t say the same.