Can Jake Lamb be revived with the Oakland A’s?

Oakland Athletics' acquired Jake Lamb to offset loss of Matt Chapman; is he a diamond in the rough?

Jake Lamb had only known one team in his big league career. For six seasons the 29-year-old suited up for the Arizona Diamondbacks; for some of those early years was one of the game’s best young hitters. He was a 2017 All-Star, owner of a .248 average, 843 OPS, 59 home runs and 196 RBIs over the 2016 and ’17 seasons.

In 2018, the injury bug bit. He endured shoulder injuries that hampered his production at the plate. Things spiraled, to put it mildly, resulting in the Diamondbacks unceremoniously designating their veteran for assignment mid-September. Lamb knew he wasn’t producing, but he didn’t see this coming.

“The Diamondbacks were the only team I’ve ever been with, and the DFA was a bit of a surprise,” Lamb said. “But I got the call that this team needed someone.”

The A’s were all over it, signing Lamb almost to the minute he cleared waivers — there was little chance Lamb would be claimed given the claimer would absorb Lamb’s $5,515,000 contract. Things seemed to align for both sides. With Matt Chapman having undergone season-ending hip surgery and Chad Pinder hitting the injured list with a Grade 1 strained hamstring, the A’s were down to Vimael Machín and a little bit of Tommy La Stella as third base options with designated hitting depth against right-handed pitchers down to a puddle. Lamb just needed another opportunity.

“Every one in awhile, you go to a new team, it brings that lift to you,” Mike Fiers, who’s changed teams a couple times in his career, said Wednesday. “New air of putting on a new jersey, it could change a bunch of things for a guy.”

But what can Lamb actually contribute?

If you open up Lamb’s indexed statistics online and take a quick scan, his last few years will give you pause. They may even ring a few alarm bells.

What are the A’s doing with a player who slashed .178/.308/.313 with 72 strikeouts and six home runs over his last 96 games (in the 2019 and 2020 seasons)? What can the A’s get out of a player with a -0.6 WAR and 14 wRC+ (the league average is 100 wRC+) with the Diamondbacks in a handful of games this year?

Can the A’s truly squeeze production out of a 29-year-old player that’s yet to regain his form after battling persistent shoulder injuries in 2018?

Perhaps not, but if his first few games are any indication….perhaps he can. He’s demonstrated them in his first few games in the green and gold. His body of work pre-injury follows him. It’s been locked away somewhere.

In his first three games with the A’s, Lamb has five hits, including two doubles and a home run with three strikeouts.

Strikeouts were an issue for Lamb this year in Arizona, he struck out in 31 percent of his at bats — among qualified players, that’d rank him among the top 15 for highest strikeout rate. Perhaps he hasn’t shown a tremendous amount of discipline in the small sample size.

What matters is that he’s shown the power potential he proved to have with the Diamondbacks. Underlying numbers show that during Lamb’s down years, he’s hitting the ball as hard, if not harder, than he was at his peak. In 2019 and 2020, he’s averaging a 90.2 mph exit velocity; in 2016 he averaged 91.3 and 88.2 in 2017. That 90 mph average is about league average, and Lamb could find more success with that kind of contact.

Of all the contact he’s made, 12 of the results — both outs and for hits — have come off the bat above 98 mph.

Lamb has also upped his launch angle since his prime years, from 10.4 average in 2016 to 15.7 this year — which could result in a little more power.

These could be false leads, or minor indications. But they’re noteworthy nonetheless. Albeit, for all the power that’s packed in his bat, his expected batting average for this season sits at .235, which isn’t great.

But that’s all based on what he’s done lately. We also know about who Lamb was when he was at his best. In his best years, he was a pure run producer. he hit 29 and 30 home runs, he led the league with nine triples; .352 and .357 OBPs with a high strikeout count, but an equally high walk rate.

We also know what a comeback and career resurgence pushing on 30 after a bout with injury looks like. Just look at Mark Canha, who’s revitalized his career post hip surgery as one of the game’s best hitters with Oakland.

Lamb, in a handful of games with the A’s, has shown that the Jake Lamb of three years ago isn’t lying too far beneath the surface. The A’s have a knack for dusting off diamonds in the rough, and Lamb has the history and tools to become another player revitalized in Oakland. If and when the A’s emerge into the postseason waters that have drowned them, Lamb could very well contribute as more than just an emergency depth piece.

Sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery to bring that talent above water.

“I’ve said it often,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It makes you feel like a part of the group that much quicker when you contribute right away.”