MESA, Ariz. - The A's had four lineups sketched out for two intrasquad games taking place simultaneously Thursday.
You couldn't help but notice that one of the lineups in particular was packed with Oakland's regulars, and there were plenty of highlights delivered by notable names during the two-inning game at the A's minor league facility.
Sonny Gray gave up a run on Mark Canha's RBI double to right-center in his inning of work but also struck out Ryon Healy with a good breaking ball. Gray's stuff earned solid reviews from manager Bob Melvin.
Overall, Melvin was pleasantly surprised with some of the hard contact generated by his hitters, who had seen just two days of live batting practice prior to Thursday.
"Canha hits a pitch down that's moving all over the place to right-center," Melvin said.
In the same game, Rajai Davis hit a leadoff triple to center off Kendall Graveman and came home on Stephen Vogt's single. Graveman got Matt Joyce looking on a fastball but gave up some hard contact in a brief 15-pitch outing. He'll start Sunday's game against the Angels, so Thursday's outing acted like a between-start bullpen session.
Sports
In the other game, Sean Manaea got his three outs so quickly that they had to extend the inning a bit for him to get his work in. That game was highlighted by a long home run from infield prospect Yairo Munoz off Daniel Coulombe.
Melvin said bench coach Mark Kotsay handled duties of sketching out the rosters for the two intrasquad games, and while it will be interesting to see how Melvin writes out the lineup for Saturday's exhibition opener against the Chicago Cubs, keep in mind that the early Cactus League games will only feature a handful of regulars in each of them.
PROSPECT WATCH: Shortstop Franklin Barreto, the A's top-rated prospect, will also see some time at second base this spring but not in the outfield, Melvin said. Barreto has played some center field in winter ball, but general manager David Forst, during an offseason interview with CSN California, said the team envisions Barreto as an infielder. The A's have Marcus Semien entrenched at shortstop right now, and there's been some feeling among scouts that Barreto - whose bat is his biggest strength - is better suited for second base long-term anyway. Another highly touted prospect, Richie Martin, is a possible shortstop of the future as well.
NOTEWORTHY: The A's have expressed optimism that reliever Santiago Casilla will arrive in camp shortly after being delayed by the visa process in the Dominican Republic. But Casilla remains day-to-day, with Melvin not giving a timetable for his arrival.
"We were going to slow-play him this spring anyway. He'll throw some bullpens and probably throw to some hitters before we get him in a game," Melvin said. "At this point in time I'm still not that concerned. I'll start to be a little bit if we get into games (and he's not in camp), but I still think we're on a good schedule with him."
ODDS AND ENDS: Oscar-nominated actor Mahershala Ali, an Oakland native who threw out the first pitch at an A's game last season, arranged for a screening of his movie "Moonlight" on Thursday night for A's players at a Scottsdale theatre. Ali is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie, which is also up for Best Picture.
"It's nice of him to think of that and want to set that up," reliever John Axford said. "I've already seen it and I'll be there again."
Axford, a movie fanatic and Film & Television major in college, has created a social media buzz in recent years by doing incredibly well predicting the Oscar winners. He has yet to reveal all of his picks for Sunday's show, but he gives rave reviews to "Moonlight."
