27-year old righty swinging 3B Josh Donaldson is off to a good start in 2013 with the bat.  He has played in 29 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 34 of 109 (.312 avg, .878 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Donaldson has now played in 118 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 105 of 415 (.253 avg, .723 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 12 homers, 58 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  It looks like Donaldson is finally starting to feel at home at 3B after starting his career as a catcher.

29-year old lefty swinging 1B Brandon Moss is proving so far that his 2012 season was not a fluke.  Moss played in 84 games for the A’s last year and he was 77 for 265 (.291 avg, .954 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 21 homers, 52 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He has played in 8 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 10 for 25 (.400 avg, 1.220 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs.  He has also walked 5 times while whiffing 4 times so far this year as he is really locked in at the plate right now.  Moss is just the latest impressive find for G.M. Billy Beane off the junk pile, as his career was going nowhere until he got to Oakland.

33-year old switch-hitting CF Coco Crisp is on fire with the bat so far in 2013.  He has played in 7 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 10 for 30 (.333 avg, 1.194 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 doubles, 3 homers and 5 RBIs.  Crisp was really on fire this past weekend against the Astros in Houston.  Crisp played in 3 games against the Astros over the weekend and he was 7 for 14 (.500 avg) with 5 runs scored, 3 homers and 5 RBIs.  The A’s hope that Crisp keeps rolling at the top of the lineup as he is the guy that gets the offense going.

A lot of “experts” thought that the A’s gave up too much to acquire 28-year old switch-hitting SS Jed Lowrie.  But, he has been on fire to start the 2013 season with his bat.  Lowrie has played in 4 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 6 for 13 (.462 avg, 1.533 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 4 doubles, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  Lowrie is going to fit right in with the A’s as he plays hard and likes to get dirty.  The A’s just hope he can stay healthy this year, which has been a problem for him to this point in his career.

29-year old lefty swinging shortstop Stephen Drew started out slowly in his first few games for the A’s in August, but he has been on fire with the bat for them in September.  Drew has played in 24 games so far this month for the A’s and he is 28 for 95 (.295 avg, .837 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers and 14 RBIs.  He has given the A’s a nice jolt at the top of the lineup as he has been leading off or batting second most of this month.  Drew has now played in 34 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 36 for 133 (.271 avg, .761 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The A’s need Drew to remain hot at the plate.

Lefty swinging 1B/OF Brandon Moss is swinging a very hot stick this month for the A’s. He has played in 16 games so far this month for the A’s and he is 17 for 50 (.340 avg, 1.051 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 4 homers and 7 RBIs. Moss has now played in 74 games overall this year for the A’s and he is 63 of 231 (.273 avg, .913 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 19 homers and 41 RBIs. The A’s need Moss to keep ripping the ball to help them hold onto the Wild Card spot they now are currently in hold of.

26-year old righty swinging 3B Josh Donaldson struggled for the A’s early this year, earning a demotion to AAA. But, when Brandon Inge got hurt, the A’s called up Donaldson and gave him another chance…..and he is running with it so far. Donaldson has played in 25 games for the A’s since August 1st and he is 30 for 92 (.326 avg) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers, 17 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 53 games overall this year for the A’s and he is 45 of 190 (.237 avg, .697 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers, 24 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The A’s hope that Donaldson stays hot the rest of the 2012 season.

25-year old righty swinging 1B Chris Carter has given the A’s a nice boost offensive since they called him up. He has played in 32 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 28 of 103 (.272 avg, 1.012 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 10 homers and 22 RBIs. Carter has whiffed 33 times already this year, but he has also walked 22 times….showing some plate discipline. The A’s have waited a couple of years for Carter to develop and it looks like the game is finally slowing down for him. He has now played in 71 games in his first three years with the A’s and he is 47 for 217 (.217 avg, .737 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 13 homers, 29 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

A lot of “baseball experts” chuckled when A’s GM Billy Beane gave 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes a huge contract over the winter. But, he who laughs last, laughs the hardest. Cespedes has been red hot with the bat since June 1st, playing in 40 games in which he is 51 of 149 (.342 avg) with 24 runs scored, 9 homers, 32 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has been especially hot in July, playing in 21 games in which he is 28 of 82 (.341 avg, 1.003 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 18 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Cespedes has now played in 68 games overall this year for the A’s and he is 77 of 255 (.302 avg, .902 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 14 homers, 53 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The A’s hope that Cespedes’ bat stays hot the rest of the year.

25-year old righty swinging Chris Carter is on fire with the bat for the A’s since they have called him up. He has played in 11 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 9 for 29 (.310 avg, 1.307 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 9 RBIs. He is also showing improved patience at the plate as he has walked 7 times so far this year. Carter has now played in 50 games in his first three years with the A’s and he is 28 for 143 (.196 avg, .653 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 8 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The A’s are protecting Carter this time around as he has pretty much been platooning with Brandon Moss at 1B.