Oakland Athletics Roundup: Mulder, Zito, Hudson Honored; Matt Olson Makes Top 10 Prospects

Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson Honored; Plus, Matt Olson Makes Top 10 Prospects List
Oakland Athletics Roundup: Tuesday, January 26

• Over the weekend, Athletics’ pitching trio Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito braved the East Coast blizzard to attend the Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards ceremony. The three Oakland legends were presented with the BBWAA’s “Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award”, which is given to baseball stars who are linked together more often than they’re mentioned separately. Although the public ceremony was cancelled due to the winter storm, the three accepted their award from Mets’ GM Sandy Alderson, who credited A’s scouting director Grady Fuson for his role in drafting them.

• Mulder’s award marked the second time in less than a week that he has been in the news. On Friday, CSN California announced that the former ace would join the club’s television broadcast team for 20 telecasts during the upcoming season. Last year, Eric Chavez filled that role, but he struggled to keep up the same constant chatter that Ray Fosse has so excellently managed to provide for the last 27 years. Will Mulder prove to be a potential replacement for the aging Fosse, or will he fall flat like most other former players-turned-commentators?

• In other news, A’s prospect Matt Olson managed to crack MLB Pipeline’s Top First Basemen list, landing at #5 in the pre-season rankings. According to MLB.com, Olson made the list for his ability to draw walks and hit home runs, while still playing solid defense in the field. It’s possible that Olson could make his debut with the A’s this year, and it may be sooner rather than later, if Mark Canha has a hard time repeating his 2015 success or Yonder Alonso doesn’t perform as well as they hope. While it’s all but guaranteed that he won’t debut until later in the season, Olson is certainly someone to keep an eye on during Spring Training.

In Case You Missed It:

Was Brett Lawrie Cause of Clubhouse Chemistry Issues? – Samantha Riley takes a look at what might have caused the clubhouse issues that were so widely reported at the start of the offseason – specifically what effect Brett Lawrie might have had, and whether the team will be better off now that he’s no longer with them.

#Athletics

Next: The Top 50 Players in Oakland Athletics History

Around the Web

Astros’ RHP Prospect Jose Rosario Killed in Motorcycle Crash: Over the weekend, 20-year-old Astros’ pitching prospect Jose Rosario died when he was involved in a motorcycle crash. Rosario pitched in the lowest levels of the Astros’ system, but as Climbing Tal’s Hill’s Eric Huysman notes, that doesn’t make the loss of his young life any less tragic for those who knew him. Thoughts are with Rosario’s family, teammate and friends.