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The Athletics are one team that you don't have to worry about their offensive firepower. They have sluggers one through nine that can put the barrel on the baseball.
What held them back last year, and is continuing to do the same this year, is the state of their pitching staff. They added Aaron Civale over the offseason, which was a help, but he's currently on the 15-day IL.
However, he is not the only starter dealing with an injury. Luis Severino is also on the IL and won't be re-evaluated in July, which has led to the front office calling up some young guys.
MORE: Athletics should DFA ex-Braves catcher to promote .923 OPS veteran
Athletics slide down the board while waiting for the rotation to reset
The A's could be in a much worse spot if it weren't for J.T. Ginn. He has really stepped up for this rotation, logging quality starts and missing barrels. But he needs some help.
Maybe that will come from rookies Gage Jump and Kade Morris, but that is yet to be seen. With these question marks, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter has bumped them down from No. 20 to No. 22 in his latest power rankings.
"Only the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, and San Diego Padres have fewer quality starts than the 14 logged by the Athletics staff so far this year. Four of those have come from J.T. Ginn over the span of his last six starts, and he has a 1.49 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 36.1 innings during that impressive stretch."
Pitching will be a priority during their next series against the Milwaukee Brewers, who are ranked within the top six in terms of team batting average. And if they can't come out victorious, they need to take advantage of their weekend series against the Rockies, or they could continue to fall down the ranks.
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