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.

The Oakland A’s have placed 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Young on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 29th due to a strained left quad.  Young has played in 23 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 15 for 87 (.172 avg, .668 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  The A’s have called 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Michael Taylor back up to replace Young on the active roster.  Taylor played in 3 games for the A’s earlier this year and he was 0 for 6 (.000 avg, .000 OPS).

The A’s have placed 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Brett Anderson on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 30th, due to a sprained right ankle.  Anderson has pitched in 6 games (5 starts) so far this year for the A’s and he is 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.  The A’s have called up 24-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Straily to replace Anderson in the starting rotation until he’s ready to return to action.  Straily has pitched in 2 games (both starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.

The A’s have placed starting CF Coco Crisp on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 30th due to a strained left hamstring.  Crisp has played in 24 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 28 for 99 (.283 avg, .943 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 5 homers, 12 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  Yoenis Cespedes will replace Crisp in CF until Chris Young is ready to play (strained right quad).  The A’s have called up 29-year old righty swinging C/1B Luke Montz to replace Crisp on the active roster.  Montz has played in 15 games in AAA-ball so far this year for the A’s and he is 15 for 53 (.283 avg, 1.085 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs.  Montz did play in 10 games for the Nationals in 2008 (his only big league experience) and he was 3 for 21 (.143 avg, .593 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.

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).

26-year old lefty swinging RF Josh Reddick was big time in his first year with the A’s in 2012.  He played in 156 games for the A’s last year and he was 148 for 611 (.242 avg, .768 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 32 homers, 85 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.  This season has been a much different story so far this year for the A’s.  He has played in 19 games for the A’s so far this year and he is only 11 of 65 (.169 avg, .559 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Maybe if Reddick shaved his goofy looking beard his bat would wake up.

The A’s have acquired 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Casper Wells from the Blue Jays for cash considerations.  Wells played in 93 games for the Mariners last year and he was 65 for 285 (.228 avg, .698 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 36 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  He has now played in 224 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 146 of 593 (.246 avg, .752 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 25 homers, 80 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  This was a good pickup for the A’s as Wells should be able to help them at some point off the bench in 2013.

UPDATE:  (4/28/2013) - The A’s have designated Casper Wells for assignment.  Wells played in 3 games for the A’s this year and he was 0 for 5 (.000 avg, .000 OPS).

UPDATE II:  (4/30/2013) - The A’s have dealt Casper Wells to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations.

39-year old righty starting pitcher Bartolo Colon is off to a good start in 2013 for the A’s.  Colon pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the A’s last year and he was 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, before his season ended early for him testing positive for PEDs.  So he missed a start this year while finishing up his suspension.  But, he looks like he hasn’t missed a beat so far this year for the A’s.  He has pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.  He has given up 20 hits so far this year, but he has yet to walk a batter while whiffing 10 batters in his first 19 innings this year.  The A’s hope that Colon keeps up the good work and stays clean this year.

Righty starting pitcher Rick Langford had a couple of big time years with the A’s back when Billy Martin was the manager.  In 1980, Langford pitched in 35 games (all starts) for the A’s and he was 19-12 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  Langford threw 28 complete games and 2 shutouts for the A’s in 1980.  In 1981, Langford pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the A’s in which he was 12-10 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  He threw 18 complete games and 2 shutouts in 1981 for the A’s.  Billy Martin worked Langford so hard in 1980 and 1981, that he was never the same pitcher the rest of his career.  Langford pitched in 248 games (195 starts) in his 10 years with the A’s and he was 73-105 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  Langford is still #6 in A’s history with his 105 losses.

25-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Griffin is off to a good start in 2013 for the A’s.  Griffin has started 2 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 17 games (all starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 9-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.  Griffin has only given up 86 hits and 22 walks in his first 96 1/3 innings while whiffing 69 batters.  Griffin is a darn good looking pitcher and I love the fact that he uses a big old fashioned over the top curveball instead of a slider.