The next few posts will take a look at the players comprising your 2009 Oakland A's. They're still playing at Papago Park, so clearly some battles are yet to be won. Some positions, however, don't need to be fought over this year.

Catcher is one of these; go ahead and write in Kurt Suzuki with pen.

Background

 Kurt was a second-round selection in the 2004 amateur draft out of Cal State Fullerton, 2004 College World Series champs. Hawaii native. Called up to the big club in June 2007 to mentor under a rapidly declining Jason Kendall. Kendall is shipped out a month later, leaving primary catching duties to the 23-year-old rookie. Rob Bowen, a piece of the Kendall trade, backs him up.

2008

 Zook comes into spring the unquestioned starter, and by all accounts does a great job handling a young pitching staff. A disappointing 2008 was highlighted by a 4.01 team ERA, good for 4th in the AL. His .279 average leads the team, more a testament to the disgraceful 2008 Oakland offense than to Suzuki's hitting prowess. He's not bad, though -- his grand slam against the White Sox in September was memorable enough to be featured in this year's TV ad campaign. Suzuki's true value was defensive -- he finished with a surprising 14.9 VORP and a 5.5 WARP-1, good for 2nd on the team behind Duke.

2009 Outlook

Kurt's the starter again this year, and Bowen, who I've always been fond of, was released last week. Big Landon Powell, a switch-hitting rookie, will back him up. Powell's two years older. The task of handling a young pitching staff will be steeper this year, as Blanton and Harden are now both in the senior circuit, and Duchscherer looks to start the season on the DL. The opening day starting five looks to be Eveland (age 25), Gallagher (23), Braden (25), Gio Gonzales (23) and Anderson or Cahill (both 21). Eveland's the only one who's spent a full season in the majors. Only in Oakland will you have a catcher who's older than the average age of the starter, and both are younger than this blog's author.

Kurt will never be a hitting star. That said, if he can hit .280 in 500+ at-bats, Bob Geren's got to be pleased. Again, his true value is behind the plate, and 2008 showed he is progressing nicely and should continue to improve defensively. Baseball Prospectus isn't quite so kind -- their 2009 projections indicate that 2008 was an aberration. They project a .260/.330/.379 line and fewer than 400 plate appearances. Good catchers are tough to find, I know, but I do hope Kurt can provide a little more pop and a few more plate appearances.

 The additions of Giambi, Holliday, Cabrera and Garciaparra to a lineup featuring Jack Cust and a healthy Eric Chavez should turn a few of last year's close losses into close wins. Assuming, of course, that pitching and defense remain constant. This is why Kurt Suzuki's value is significant, and why, with another solid year, he could have best-on-the-club VORP and WARP-1. Let's just not bat him leadoff anymore, ok Bob?