GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Athletics wrapped up Spring Training with Monday¡¯s Cactus League finale against the White Sox at Camelback Ranch. They will now return to their new temporary home of West Sacramento for a couple of days to settle in before heading to Seattle for Opening Day against the Mariners on Thursday.
With much fewer roster battles than the past few years for an A¡¯s squad with serious playoff aspirations for 2025, this spring was more about their expected contributors gearing up for a season with high expectations.
Here are five players who stood out this spring for the A¡¯s:
Butler, who was rewarded with a seven-year, $65.5 million contract extension this spring, has been locked in at the plate and appears fully ready to live up to his sky-high expectations for a monster year. He finished spring hitting .375 (18-for-48) with a 1.026 OPS and has shown vast improvement as a defender in right field.
Manager Mark Kotsay: ¡°He¡¯s challenged himself to go out and perform at that elite level every day. There was a lot of talk amongst us as a staff and with him about the focus and concentration on defense to be an elite defender. He¡¯s shown that all Spring Training. Since the extension, he¡¯s embraced that mindset of, ¡®I want to be the best.¡¯ It¡¯s been fun to watch.¡±
SS Jacob Wilson
Bulking up by about 15 pounds this offseason, Wilson arrived to camp with newfound strength. The A¡¯s No. 1 prospect (No. 31 in baseball according to MLB Pipeline) is generating much higher exit velocities and led the team with four home runs this spring. While the extra pop is encouraging, the elite bat-to-ball skills are what continue to stand out, as he struck out just twice in 53 plate appearances.
Kotsay: It¡¯s the same Jacob as advertised that we¡¯ve seen. He¡¯s a bat-to-ball guy and hits the ball the majority of the time. ¡ He¡¯s a guy that knows where the barrel is, and he finds it quite a bit. ¡ Defensively, he¡¯s as advertised at shortstop. He¡¯s going to catch the ball and make the plays.¡±
Langeliers spent the majority of his offseason refining his opposite-field approach, and the results have showed up this spring by hitting .286 (12-for-42) with seven extra-base hits. Langeliers is already one of the game¡¯s premier power-hitting catchers with 51 home runs over the last two seasons, and the A¡¯s believe Langeliers can take his overall offensive game to another level in 2025.
Kotsay: ¡°I¡¯ve been really impressed with Shea. I think he¡¯s made the biggest adjustment from a mechanics and approach standpoint. We¡¯ve seen him this Spring Training hit more balls to the right side of the field. That¡¯s something he worked really hard at this offseason, and the results are translating. The at-bats against the lefties have been the most impressive, because he has struggled over the last two seasons with left-handed pitching. The adjustments cleaned that up, and I¡¯m excited about Shea.¡±
CF JJ Bleday
Bleday and his 67 extra-base hits last season -- third most among primary center fielders behind only Aaron Judge and Jarren Duran -- seemingly flew under the radar in 2024. The 27-year-old is aiming to change that in 2025, and his spring suggests such as he hit .326 (14-for-43) with a .992 OPS and three homers while also drawing nine walks this spring.
Kotsay: ¡°JJ is building off of last year. He¡¯s continuing his natural progression and development at the big league level. We¡¯re hopeful that we can keep [Langeliers and Bleday] healthy and continue their progress establishing themselves as not just everyday players, but potential All-Star players.¡±
1B Nick Kurtz
The A¡¯s No. 2 prospect (MLB No. 38) did nothing but impress in what was his first big league camp. Appearing in 14 Cactus League games, Kurtz bashed a pair of majestic home runs and posted a .974 OPS in addition to providing stellar defense at first base. Kurtz may be young in his career with only a total of 12 Minor League games under his belt, but the 22-year-old appears to be on an accelerated track to the big leagues.
Kotsay: ¡°He¡¯s very, very advanced for a 22-year-old in terms of his approach at the plate. I can see him knocking on the door and getting himself here before expectations probably.¡±