A’s Watch: Adam Rosales, Cliff Pennington & Eric Patterson

At 13-13, the A’s are half a game back of the AL West leading Texas Rangers (13-12). The A’s early success in April was a result of a very timely hitting offense and a stellar starting rotation.

In their recent road-trip, however, the A’s went 1-5 while visiting Tampa Bay and Toronto. Ben Sheets and Dallas Braden were roughed up by the hot-hitting Rays, and Gio Gonzalez was the only A’s pitcher to record a win during the six-game road-trip. The A’s have not played exceedingly well on the road, and are currently 4-8 this season on the road.

Despite their recent struggles, including the injuries to Brett Anderson, Kurt Suzuki and Justin Duchscherer, the A’s have seen a couple bright spots this season.

Adam Rosales, who was brought to Oakland via trade with the Reds, has been a pleasant surprise this season. In 65 at-bats, Rosales owns a .323/.375/.462 line and has his share of homers (2) and RBIs (12). Rosales, who was not expected to even make the team in March, has been an important catalyst on offense ever since Mark Ellis was sent to the DL. Rosales brings a very positive energy to the A’s club, and players tend to feed off the kind of energy Rosales brings to the field every game.

Another pleasant surprise on offense has been SS Cliff Pennington. In March I did not place too much confidence in Pennington, who I thought was an average player at best, but he’s proven me wrong so far this season. In 88 at-bats, Pennington owns a .273/.354/.455 line and has hit three homers this season. He’s also driven in 16 runs, which leads the entire A’s team.

And finally, there’s Eric Patterson. Patterson, who was brought to Oakland in the trade that sent Rich Harden to the Cubs, owns a .225/.244/.644 line in just 40 at-bats. While his stats are not much by any means, he’s been a decent replacement for Travis Buck and Coco Crisp, who are both on the DL. Patterson’s been given a good chunk of playing time, and he’s trying to make the most of it. Patterson has one homer and four RBIs so far this year.