The Athletics walked into the 2026 season with a young offense, and several of those notables received pre-arbitration extensions over the winter. West Sacramento saw a lot of home runs over the first half — but certainly, not all was well for the A’s in the first half.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 422 | 18th |
| Home Runs | 117 | t-12th |
| OPS | .721 | t-16th |
| Whiff% | 26.7 | 25th |
| Hard Hit% | 40.6 | 10th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 5.30 | 29th |
| Relievers’ ERA | 5.16 | 28th |
| Strikeouts | 813 | 14th |
| Whiff% | 25.3 | 13th |
| Chase% | 30.0 | 17th |
The Good
Yet again, the offense was led by familiar faces.
Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers were the co-leaders in extra-base hits (37) over the first half. Langeliers hit 21 home runs over that span.
“Big Amish” Nick Kurtz on a tear in May and June, which vaulted him to his second-straight 20-home run season. Kurtz, though, ended the first half on the injured list.
Another promising happenstance was the resurgence of Zack Gelof, who slashed .273/.327/.476 with 11 home runs and 23 extra-base hits over the first half. Gelof spent much of last year in Triple-A but worked his way back into the regular lineup. And there were points when Gelof simply could not stop hitting.
And Gelof wasn’t the only notable surprise, as longtime Mets Minor Leaguer Carlos Cortes established himself as a steady hand over the first half.
Moving on, it was tough to get consistent pitching. But for the first half, the Athletics’ ace was J.T. Ginn, who started to mix it up and use a four-seamer to complement the sinker more frequently.
Ginn posted a 3.67 ERA over 103 innings.
The Bad
Rookie Gage Jump and Ginn were two of the few positive stories from the Athletics’ pitching staff. In the team’s second season in Sacramento, the A’s finished the first half with the most home runs allowed by starting pitchers.
Two of the most egregious, in terms of home runs allowed, were on the A’s this season. One was Aaron Civale, who, as we noted when he was traded to the Cubs, had a good start but couldn’t maintain it. Jeffrey Springs, meanwhile, had the second-highest HR/9 (2.41) in the Majors among starting pitchers.
Only Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon (2.68) had a higher rate.
Jacob Lopez, who was acquired from Tampa Bay alongside Springs in 2024, pitched very well last season. But this season, some regression occurred, as he posted an ERA north of 6.00 in the first half.
While Ginn was a bulldog over the first half, the same sentiment couldn’t be stated about the rest of the team’s pitching staff. That included the bullpen, which sorely missed Mason Miller.
As for the offense, it was a very difficult run for both Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker. Butler slashed .196/.296/.296, while Rooker slashed .220/.281/.389 before he required season-ending surgery. The one positive for Rooker is that he did belt 10 home runs in limited action.
Looking Ahead
The Athletics already started off the selloff in July, and more pieces could likely be on the move. How far, though, the A’s are willing to cut remains to be seen.
After all, the pieces of a successful team are here.
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