I'm back to continue my series of making the case for the future of various A's players with Daric Barton.

I'm going to warn my readers now that this will be a fairly math-involved fanpost, but I assure you, it is not to put off those who are wary of the old number, but rather to prove a point. Moreover, my data comes from before tonight in which Barton had quite a good game, getting on base a few times, and stroking a double.

This post will tie in as well to Nico's excellent luck/skill debate on BABIP on the front page.

Without further ado, I give you Daric Barton's rate stats from 2009 in 114 PAs.

BB: 14.3%

K: 17.7%

ISO: .156

BABIP:  .237

Other useful information: Barton's career BABIP in the majors is: .278, and he has hit 3 HRs in 114 PAs so far this year.

Join me after the jump as I use these numbers to predict a full season of Daric Barton based on what appears to be his skill level right now.

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I'm back to discuss another of our current outfielders, and once again to make the case for his extended reign over the green grasses of the Coliseum.

Yes, this has been discussed before. But it needs to be discussed again.

Here's the question: should Rajai Davis be the starting center fielder on the A's in 2010, and the deeper question, does Rajai Davis deserve to be a starter on a good team...? (Hopefully these questions will be one and the same because the A's will be a good contending team next year! Right...? hopefully...? I'm always optimistic)

Obviously, the reason I'm writing this fanpost is that I think the answer to both questions should be an unequivocal yes.

Join me after the jump for statistical evidence to back up my bold thesis!

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I am going to try to make the case that Ryan Sweeney could be the future of CF for the Oakland A's, an argument which, though of course debatable, I think is long overdue.

Let me first make clear that this is not a conclusion I had ever expected to come to. Since we first got Ryan Sweeney, I have felt that he was drastically overrated and just can't imagine him ever honing his swing so that those batting practice moon shots will happen during the game. I've always wanted Travis Buck given the shot over Sweeney in RF and think that those people who say "Sweeney is our best hitter!!!!111" are crazy... 

Moreover, there has always been the thought that while Sweeney is a great RF, he is a subpar CF because of his bad routes taken to the ball.

But according to UZR, Sweeney has been an exceptional CF this year.

Now, UZR is known for its fluctuations in relatively small sample sizes, however it is also known for noticing  and showing when players make improvements in their defensive skills and ability.

I think it is safe to say that Sweeney does indeed look much better in CF this year, obviously making the spectacular plays, but also he seems to be getting to balls he didn't get to last year.

UZR shows his range being worth 4.3 runs above average so far this year, up from -1.6 last year.

In total, 13.9 RAA / 150 games in CF, which rates him as one of the best defensive center fielders in the league.

Ryan Sweeney this year is on pace to be a roughly league average center fielder. Considering that he's cost controlled for a while longer, Sweeney is a valuable commodity in center field.

The point here is that what we really should be looking for in Sweeney's development is his continued progress on his defense in center field. Because as long as he keeps fielding like this, it doesn't matter whether he ever hits for power.

Dallas Braden, in my opinion, is going to be a star.

Before I go on to backup my opinion with controversial evidence, I would like to explain, for what it's worth, that I've held this belief since the very first time I saw Braden pitch in 2007 and am only using the opportunity of one of his most successful major league starts to espouse my optimistic projections, not merely jumping on his bandwagon after one good start.

Firstly, there seems to be absolutely no contingent of ANers, Scouts, Bloggers, or even fans who agrees with me. Even the most optimistic projections I've seen have claimed that Braden can be a good #3 starter.

Before the year started, there were a fair amount of people that believed Braden would eventually end up in the bullpen, and most figured that he didn't enter into the A's plans after 2010 with the affluence of young pitching about to break through.

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Every year, the schedule changes. Sometimes, from our perspective, this is good, sometimes it's bad. The people behind the scenes in the MLB keep working it and working it, in a seeming constant search for perfection. Interleague play, Bay Bridge Series, Unbalanced schedule... These are some different types of innovations that are used to try and, hopefully, achieve balance in all schedules.

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