Needing to fill a spot with Khris Davis being away from the team for the birth of his second child, the Oakland Athletics called up their no. 8 overall prospect, infielder Sheldon Neuse, to fill up some offensive firepower. Neuse, who was acquired in 2017 from the Washington Nationals, has been tearing the cover off of the ball and looks to be a solid choice for the A’s as September rosters open up.

To be able to purchase Neuse’s contract, the team designated left-handed reliever Wei-Chung wang. For Neuse, his first taste of big-league baseball will most likely come against the New York Yankees on Aug. 30, as he was currently in transit but was slated to arrive for the A’s – Royals matchup on Thursday; however, he did not see any playing time.

For the A’s, they currently sit nine games behind the Houston Astros in the race for the American League West divisional title, which seems to be pretty insurmountable. However, they currently are one-and-a-half games behind the Cleveland Indians for the first Wild Card spot and are one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the second WC slot.

Neuse has been playing most of his time at third base in the minor leagues, but has experience at second base and would most likely see any time at those two defensive positions. If looking to fill in in other ways, his offensive numbers set him up well to slot in for Davis as the team’s designated hitter for a few games.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
DJ LeMehieu with eyeball emojis all around

Joey Mistretta ·

Athletics Yankees prediction, Athletics Yankees odds, Athletics Yankees pick, Athletics Yankees, how to watch Athletics Yankees

Matthew Zemek ·

Yankees manager Aaron Boone with lasers in his eyes

Jackson Roberts ·

With the rosters set to expand to 40 players on Sept. 1, Neuse is a solid candidate to remain up with the team for their postseason push. While he may not receive as much playing time as he may want due to the team being in the thick of the playoff hunt, Neuse would become a solid option off of the bench for the team and able to fill in a few roles if asked.

In the minors, Neuse put up solid numbers for Triple-A Las Vegas, as the youngster hit 27 home runs, drove in 102 runs and put up a split of .317/.389/.550. To put up these stats in only 126 games is a testament to the type of solid offensive player that Neuse has been and who he can be for the big-league squad.