:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49329431/usa-today-9233344.0.jpg)
As the season started approaching and the A's roster seemed set, excitement reverberated among A's fans. There were questions with the roster to be sure, but the A's roster looked to be full of young position players who could break out big time. Mark Canha? Rule 5 steal. Khris Davis? Underrated slugger. Yonder Alonso? Solid hitter.
Thus far, none of that has happened. Just how far off the A's 2015 numbers and career numbers from their 2016 lines thus far? Let's look. Numbers were taken prior to Friday's game.
| Player | 2015 OPS | Career OPS | 2016 OPS | Difference 2016 and 2015 | Difference between 2016 & career |
| Stephen Vogt | .783 | .734 | .534 | -.249 | -.200 |
| Yonder Alonso | .742 | .724 | .242 | -.500 | -.482 |
| Jed Lowrie | .712 | .734 | .474 | -.238 | -.260 |
| Marcus Semien | .715 | .712 | 1.053 | .338 | .341 |
| Danny Valencia | .864 | .736 | .733 | -.131 | -.003 |
| Khris Davis | .828 | .798 | .419 | -.409 | -.379 |
| Billy Burns | .726 | .716 | .588 | -.138 | -.128 |
| Josh Reddick | .781 | .747 | .779 | -.002 | .032 |
| Billy Butler | .713 | .796 | .488 | -.255 | -.298 |
| Coco Crisp | .474 | .731 | .695 | .221 | -.036 |
| Chris Coghlan | .784 | .748 | .440 | -.344 | -.308 |
| Josh Phegley | .749 | .652 | .801 | .052 | .149 |
| Mark Canha | .742 | .734 | .417 | -.325 | -.317 |
Prefer wRC+? Gotcha covered.
| Player | 2015 wRC+ | Career wRC+ | 2016 wRC+ | Difference 2016 and 2015 | Difference between 2016 & career |
| Stephen Vogt | 115 | 104 | 55 | -60 | -49 |
| Yonder Alonso | 111 | 104 | -45 | -156 | -149 |
| Jed Lowrie | 95 | 101 | 32 | -63 | -69 |
| Marcus Semien | 98 | 98 | 204 | 106 | 106 |
| Danny Valencia | 135 | 100 | 123 | -12 | 23 |
| Khris Davis | 121 | 116 | 21 | -100 | -95 |
| Billy Burns | 102 | 100 | 73 | -29 | -27 |
| Josh Reddick | 117 | 105 | 122 | 5 | 17 |
| Billy Butler | 99 | 115 | 37 | -62 | -78 |
| Coco Crisp | 35 | 97 | 98 | 63 | 1 |
| Chris Coghlan | 113 | 103 | 17 | -96 | -86 |
| Josh Phegley | 107 | 77 | 139 | 32 | 62 |
| Mark Canha | 106 | 104 | 5 | -101 | -99 |
The average A has a wRC+ that's 34 points off his career norm, 36 off his 2015 number. The A's are off to a really, really bad offensive start.
What does it all mean?
The A's offense has been terrible.
No, really
The numbers above are almost entirely a function of the small sample that is 2016 thus far. They do paint a disturbing picture of the A's offensive troubles, which have permeated through all but maybe three or four players. Scoring for the A's on the baseball diamond is like scoring at summer camp - word is, everyone else is doing it, but the A's just can't figure out how.
There's nowhere to go but up
Sometimes, a fun activity is to a stat leaderboard and search in reverse. Who's the worst hitter in the ENTIRE league? Ha-Ha, sucks for that team! Who's the second worst hitter in the league? Ha-Ha sucks for th- well crap. That's Yonder Alonso.
Seriously, Yonder Alonso is hitting better than only Russell Martin among players with 30+ plate appearances. The good news is that A) at least Alonso isn't being paid $16 million and B) Yonder Alonso is going to get better.
I don't mean to pick on Alonso, but he's an obvious target with his .212 OPS. He's also the best reminder the A's are going to hit better than they are now. Hitting so far below your career average is indicative of the small sample, not skill. I don't know if the A's will be a good hitting team this year, but you can bet they won't be this home plate phobic bunch all season, either.
