As we get deeper in spring, we get more data on what is actually happening in Arizona. As a friendly reminder, I'd like to caution against reading into the results of spring or clicking on this tempting link to the A's stats thus far. From a veteran of being fooled by spring sensations: don't do it.
Why aren't Spring Training stats useful?
For one, they exist in a tiny sample. In an average spring, a regular player will get somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 at bats, an amount that gives you little information in any venue. Sam Fuld and Billy Butler played at an All-Star level for the first 65 at bats of 2015. More importantly, it's just not real baseball. Players work on weird things and shake off the rust. Weird stuff can happen in a tiny sample of non-consequential baseball.
Here are some examples
-In 2015, Mike Zunino of the Seattle Mariners put up an OPS of 1.287 in 54 spring at bats. That was good for second best in all of baseball. How did he fare during the regular season? Simply divide that OPS by two and subtract .113. That comes out to .530 or "not very good", earning Zunino a late season trip to AAA.
-Also in 2015, Michael Morse put up and OPS of 1.102 after signing a two year deal with the Marlins. Morse was later swallowed and spit out by the vat of money that is the Los Angeles Dodgers as he was worth more as an eaten contract than a big league roster spot.
-In the Mariners are sad vein, Brad Miller led all spring players with an OPS of 1.314 in 2014. Brad Miller did not lead all MLB players in anything during the regular season.
-Kevin Kouzmanoff was top 20 in OPS in 2014. His agent, Tutu-Late, was able to parlay this into a major league cup of coffee for the Rangers that season.
-Michael Choice was a 2014 Spring Training star, earning a roster spot to start the season. Once real baseball got going though, he was a completely different player. His demotion to AAA gave rise to his nickname, Michael Option.
-Billy Butler had an OPS of .956 last spring -________-
-Daric f#$%ing Barton
-Will Ferrell played shortstop for the A's last year, giving fans a preview of the pre-Ron Washington version of Marcus Semien.
-Eric Sogard is a constant spring star.
-Kendall Graveman's ERA was more than 7 full points below Sonny Gray's last March.
-Drew Pomeranz struck out everyone last spring.
-Haha, remember when we wanted Barry Zito to start the year in the rotation? I guess we weren't wrong, but you get it.
-The 2013 A's had one regular season pitcher throw ten innings or more with an ERA below 5 in the corresponding spring.
-Grant Balfour gave up 3 dingers in 6.2 innings prior to the 2012 season.
That doesn't mean Spring Training is useless!
For one, Spring Training is really fun for everyone! Just ask Peggy in between IPAs.
The results of spring aren't always totally useless, the best players usually kill it in spring too. It's just almost impossible to know when to read into anything, so I highly advise against it. It's a great chance to judge with your own eyes and a wonderful opportunity to get a sneak peek into the future. Watching prospects in comically high uniform numbers is one of my favorite baseball traditions. Plus it's a great chance to see regulars working on different part of their game.
And lastly, fake baseball is so much better than no baseball at all.