Sorry, I know, awful headline. But, just prior to the Donaldson trade overnight, Kyle Blanks was DFA'd to create the required roster space for the A's. He was acquired by the A's in 2014 from San Diego, so all of his home plate appearances have been in a hitter's nightmare.
If you are looking for a 2015 Jesus Guzman-type flier, you certainly could to worse than Blanks, who is about to turn 28. The right-handed 1B/DH/LF has a career .234/.319/.407 hitter in 862 PA in the Majors. He has just over 2400 PA in the minors, with a combined .303/.392/.517 line. His 162 pro-rated game average projects to 23 doubles, 19 home runs, and 49 walks versus 159 strikeouts.
Interestingly, he has hit better at home over his career: .237/.339/.404 at home versus .232/.300/.409 on the road. His platoon splits only really differ in terms of OBP: .229/.307/.405 against righties versus .244/.342/.409 versus lefties. He has 16 plate appearances at MMP: .000/.063/.000.
I would imagine that if Blanks had decent scouting reports, the Rangers would grab him prior to the Astros getting a chance. They are also in need of RH power at the corners, given they have lost Alex Rios to free agency. The Astros no longer get first dibs on the AL waiver claims.
File this one under "Situation Bears Watching". And again, apologies about the miserable headline.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
