Oakland Athletics Should Expect More from Eric Sogard

Eric Sogard is a fan favorite and a top notch defensive player but his offense has historically lacked the punch one would expect from a middle infielder. In 2014, his second full season in the majors, Sogard finished the season with a .223/.298/.268 line and spent most of his time in the ninth spot of the rotation.

Although those numbers are all down from his previous season stats, there was hope to be found in the fact that his production at the plate was on the rise during the second half of the season. With a home invasion and the birth of a lovely baby mixed into his 2014 campaign, it is safe to assume that Eric Sogard was playing through distractions but it appears that “Sogie” is poised for a career year in 2015, if his spring training numbers are to be believed.

During his Cactus League play, Eric Sogard has posted a .357/.373/.518 line and is in a three way tie for the team with 7 doubles (although he did it with 16 fewer at bats than Mark Canha). Further, and possibly more importantly, he has his K% down to 5.3%.

What I witnessed at spring training this year was a more focused Sogard at the plate. His swings seem more deliberate and he’s making solid contact with every ball he hits. Quite a few of the balls I saw him launch were directly at fielders but over the course of a full season, he’ll have his fair share of bloop hit singles.

I’m very excited by the amount of doubles he is hitting in spring. With this team’s huge decline in known home run hitters, extra base hits are going to be critical to the Oakland offense in 2015. The A’s lead baseball in spring doubles and are second in triples which is a large factor in their current win streak and if players like Sogard can continue to grab extra bases, the Athletics will continue to manufacture runs without relying on the long ball.

The remarkable factor to Eric Sogard’s spring success is that among his teammates he ranks fourth in hits, is tied for first in doubles, 21st in strike outs (from most to least), but is seventh in plate appearances. Had he played in four or five more games, his numbers may rank among the top in all those categories.

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Of course, as I’ve said a million times, the spring training numbers can be wildly misleading but in 2014, with 9 fewer plate appearances, Eric Sogard had 8 fewer hits, five fewer doubles, and five more strike outs so comparing spring to spring, he is markedly stronger at the plate in 2015.

It appears, to my eye at least, that he’s adjusted his stance a little bit and is leaning back into the batters box more than he has previously, adopting a stance very similar to Coco Crisp‘s without all the finger waving. Maybe all it will take is a minor adjustment like that to get his numbers where the A’s need him to be this year.

If the regular season drop off we can expect from Sogard mirrors the drop off we saw in 2014, he’ll be a .300 hitter this year so, in reality, it’s not crazy to think that Eric Sogard could actually grab a .270 average with 40 or 50 RBI’s in 2015 which, for a platoon player, could benefit the team a great deal.

Among all the returning members to the 2015 squad, Eric Sogard is the one to watch this year.