In 2022 the A’s went for quantity over quality, putting a record number of different players — including a record number of rookies — on the field on their way to 102 losses. Perhaps the most interesting team award would be the player that fans most forgot ever donned the green and gold. We could call this the Marco Estrada Award, although Ryan Langerhans might have a few things to say about it.
See previous Wheat/Chaff analysis here and here. Onward...
Adrian Martinez
With rookies often you need to look at process and projection over results, remembering that a ‘small’ change (the addition of a key pitch, a better timing mechanism, more exposure to hitters/pitchers, a slightly shorter swing path, refined command) can enable rookies to take huge steps forward.