It does not matter what team you are a fan of, there are teams you pour a lot of stock into and teams you don’t. We are now 40+ games through the regular season and you can now figure out which teams are worth it in this regard.

If you have not put stock into the Sacramento Athletics, I highly recommend you do so. They currently sit second in the AL West, which is a surprise, but there is a lot to love about this team. They are a pesky bunch and are electric offensively. The best part about them is their youth movement. Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom are just a few to name. The front office put stock into locking up Lawrence Butler long term and they’ve continued to bring guys up, Nick Kurtz being the latest. One rookie that is standing out is Jacob Wilson and he is running away the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Wilson Running Away with the Award

This AL rookie class is actually quite special. The amount of talent in the American League is off the charts and there a lot of great candidates for this award. Kristian Campbell has been a spark plug for the Boston Red Sox. Jackson Jobe has been solid enough for the gauntlet that is the Tigers rotation. This is not to dismiss the pair of rookies of Jake Mangum and Kameron Misner, or even Jasson Dominguez. But Jacob Wilson has not only been the best rookie in the AL, he has also been the most consistent.

Very rarely does Wilson walk, which is extremely impressive. It took until 90+ plate appearances for him to even face a 3-2 count. All he does is hit and the best part is that he does not strikeout. As it currently stands, Wilson has struck out in just 5.4% of his at bats and is walking just 4.2%. It’s impressive. His approach at the plate is also quite remarkable, as he ranks in the 99th percentile in whiff rate and 100th in strikeout rate. Of course there are things he struggles with, as do most rookies, but he’s been a huge component to the A’s lineup and is a legitimate every day player.

When it comes to running away with the award, he’s been far and away the best rookie in the class, but also the most consistent. Among all AL Rookie batters, he has the best batting average (.363), the second best on base percentage (.389), the best slugging percentage (.513), and the best OPS (.903). Wilson is tied for the rookie lead in home runs (5) and he has driven in the most runs (26). His wOBA blows the entire class out of the water and his expected batting average ranks in the 97th percentile. He is an offensive machine and his 158 wRC+ is a telling tale.

He brings value to the table, evidently at the plate and also in the field. You don’t have to put alot of stock in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), but Wilson is already a 2.0 win player. Next closest? Red Sox Catcher Carlos Narvaez with 1.0.

Wilson got to be the big time player against the Dodgers on Tuesday Nighy, hitting TWO of the five home runs by the A’s. He went 4-5 with two home runs and 4 RBI’s. Just a pure electric factory.

If you aren’t watching A’s baseball, you need to. And credit for A’s Broadcaster Dallas Braden, who has been pumping this guys tires for a year now.