The A’s have called up 37-year old lefty reliever Hideki Okajima.  Okajima pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 2.16 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP.  Okajima last pitched in the majors for the Red Sox back in 2011.  He has pitched in 261 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 17-8 with 6 saves, a 3.11 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

The A’s need to do the right thing and call up 25-year old righty swinging 2B Grant Green to replace Eric Sogard in the starting lineup.  Green came into this season as the A’s #8 prospect according to Baseball America and he has been solid in AAA-ball so far this year.  Green has played in 32 games in AAA-ball for the A’s so far this year and he is 42 for 139 (.302 avg, .817 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Green has now played in 420 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 531 of 1,760 (.302 avg, .810 OPS) with 284 runs scored, 48 homers, 246 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.  Green deserves his first shot in the majors in the near future for the A’s.

28-year old lefty swinging catcher Stephen Vogt is off to a very fast start with the bat in 2013 in AAA-ball.  He has played in 18 games in AAA-ball for the A’s so far this year and he is 34 of 75 (.453 avg, 1.299 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers and 18 RBIs.  He has also walked more times (9) than he has whiffed (8) so far this year.  Vogt has now played in 539 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 600 for 1,969 (.305 avg, .826 OPS) with 285 runs scored, 49 homers, 318 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  If called up, the A’s hope that he’s much better than he was in his first taste of the majors in 2012 with the Rays.  He played in 18 games for the Rays last year and he was 0 for 25 (.000 avg, .074 OPS).

The A’s are likely going to take things slowly with 19-year old righty swinging SS Addison Russell.  GM Billy Beane went outside his comfort zone to pick Russell, as he prefers to go with college players.  That being said, Russell comes into this season as the A’s #1 prospect according to Baseball America.  Russell has played in 3 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 3 for 13 (.231 avg, .641 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base.  Russell has now played in 58 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 83 of 230 (.361 avg, 1.005 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 7 homers, 46 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  He has an amazing upside.

The A’s have a six pack of rookies that could be ready to help them at some point in 2013.  Here is a look at them:

Dan Straily:  24-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Straily comes into this season as the A’s #6 prospect according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 7 games (all starts) for the A;s in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 2-1 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  He also pitched in 25 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 9-7 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  Straily has now pitched in 97 games (90 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 35-26 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

Grant Green:  25-year old righty swinging IF/OF Grant Green comes into this season as the A’s #8 prospect according to Baseball America.  Green played in 125 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 155 of 524 (.296 avg, .796 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 15 homers, 75 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.  He has now played in 388 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 489 of 1,621 (.302 avg, .810 OPS) with 258 runs scored, 44 homers, 227 RBIs and 29 stolen bases.

Pedro Figueroa:  27-year old lefty reliever Pedro Figueroa comes into this season as the A’s #13 overall prospect according to Baseball America.  Figueroa pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in his first taste of the majors for the A’s last year and he was 0-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.  He also pitched in 32 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 0-2 with 1 save, a 2.62 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.  Figueroa has now pitched in 120 games (73 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 20-27 with 2 saves, a 4.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

Michael Taylor:  27-year old righty swinging outfielder Michael Taylor comes into this season as the A’s #15 prospect according to Baseball America.  Taylor played in 6 games for the A’s last year and he was 3 for 21 (.143 avg, .333 OPS) with 2 runs scored.  He also played in 120 games in AAA-ball for the A’s last year and he was 129 of 449 (.287 avg, .846 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 12 homers, 67 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.  Taylor has now played in 17 games in his first two years with the A’s and he is 9 for 51 (.176 avg, .505 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI.

Andrew Carignan:  26-year old righty reliever Andrew Carignan comes into this season as the A’s #28 prospect according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 11 games (0 starts) in his first taste of the majors for the A’s last year and he was 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP.  Carignan also pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 2-0 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 17 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the A’s and he is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP.

Arnold Leon:  24-year old righty reliever Arnold Leon comes into this season as the A’s #29 prospect according to Baseball America.  Leon pitched in 44 games (0 starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball for the A’s last year and he was 4-1 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  Leon has now pitched in 157 games (12 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 11-6 with 5 saves, a 3.15 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

27-year old righty starter/reliever Gary Daley has been suspended for 50 games due to testing positive for PEDs.  He pitched in 34 games (18 starts) in AA-ball last year for the A’s and he was 10-10 with 2 saves, a 5.11 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.  Daley has now pitched in 178 games (114 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 35-50 with 2 saves, a 5.91 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP.  This isn’t much of a loss for the A’s and it could cost Daley his job.

22-year old lefty swinging catcher Beau Taylor came into this season as the A’s #30 prospect according to Baseball America. Taylor has played in 84 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 88 for 305 (.289 avg, .746 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 3 homers and 44 RBIs. He has now played in 132 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 133 of 470 (.283 avg, .724 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 3 homers, 62 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Taylor looks like a decent prospect, but the A’s are going to bring him along at his own pace.

The A’s have called up 23-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Straily for his first shot at the show. Straily pitched in 22 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 8-6 with a 2.60 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He gave up only 97 hits and 37 walks in 138 1/3 innings this year in the minors, while whiffing a very impressive 175 batters! He has now pitched in 94 games (87 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 34-25 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He will be taking 29-year old lefty Travis Blackley’s spot in the rotation. Blackley has pitched in 14 games (10 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He will be moving to the bullpen.

The Oakland A’s have released 27-year old righty swinging infielder Luke Hughes. Hughes played in 4 games for the A’s this year and he was 1 for 13 (.077 avg, .154 OPS). He also played in 42 games in AA+AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 29 for 130 (.223 avg, .654 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers, 15 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Hughes has played in 8 games overall this year for the Twins & A’s in which he was 3 for 23 (.130 avg, .255 OPS) with 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Hughes was just taking up space in the minors, so the A’s won’t miss him at all moving forward.

The A’s have released 30-year old lefty reliever Erick Threets at his request. Threets pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 4-2 with 3 saves, a 1.84 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Threets has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 0-1 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Threets should have little problem finding another team willing to give him a shot based on how he has been pitching this year.