Oakland Athletics: FanGraphs Predicts 11 Win Improvement

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Apr 6, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Opening day line ups before the game between the Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Oakland Athletics: FanGraphs Predicts 11 Win Improvement For 2016

The number-crunchers at FanGraphs have completed their 2016 projections for every MLB player, which means they have released their annual standing predictions.

Last year, the Oakland Athletics finished the season with an American League worst 68-94 record. However, FanGraphs has predicted a better — though not great — year for the 2016 A’s. Their forecast for Oakland puts them at 79-83. That means you should get ready for more of Nick Houser’s tweets telling you that the A’s are on pace to win 81 games (we love you, Nick).

Although FanGraphs predicts that this will be the worst record in the American League West, they also think the Astros will win the division only seven games ahead of the A’s at 86-76. That might be hard to believe, but their projections are based on predictive numbers, and the numbers think the West is going to be competitive this year.

Remember, the win-loss projections are based on the collective performances of each individual player. So we’re going to look at some of the major and minor changes that the A’s have made to their personnel, and discuss just how much of an impact each of the off-season moves might have. Do you think the front office’s moves are worth 11 more wins this year?

Note that since this article is based entirely on hypothetical performances that haven’t happened yet, the conclusions will be heavily based on the equally hypothetical fan-favorite / player-hated WAR stat, because we like that kind of thing here at Swingin’ A’s.

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