Checking in on A's return from Kansas City Royals for Lucas Erceg

Jason Burke | Nov 4, 2024

Sep 17, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg (60) reacts after a strikeout to end the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The biggest trade chip that the A's moved at the deadline was easily Lucas Erceg, a hard-throwing 29-year-old reliever in his first full season in the big leagues. The Kansas City Royals jumped at the chance to acquire the righty, who won't be a free agent until after the 2029 season.

With the Royals, Erceg became the team's closer, locking down 11-of-13 opportunities and posting a 2.88 ERA across 25 innings, along with a 0.84 WHIP. While he had been good with the A's, complete with a 3.68 ERA in 36 2/3 innings and a 1.20 WHIP, but he was better in K.C., lowering his walk rate from an already improved 8.3% with Oakland, to a minuscule 3.1% with the Royals.

In return for Erceg, the A's landed three players in reliever Will Klein, starter Mason Barnett, and outfielder Jared Dickey.

Mason Barnett, RHP, 23

Jun 21, 2022; Omaha, NE, USA; Auburn Tigers pitcher Mason Barnett (18) throws against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first inning at Charles Schwab Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Barnett is now ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the A's system on MLB Pipeline, and with the way he finished up the 2024 season, there are quite a few people excited to see him in the big leagues quite soon.

He spent the entire season in Double-A, split between the Royals affiliate and the Midland RockHounds, and posted a cumulative 4.20 ERA across 133 innings with a 1.28 WHIP. He dropped his walk rate from 9% to 7.8% with the A's, and upped his strikeout rate from 27.4% to 31.1%. He ended up posting a 2.61 ERA in Midland across 41 1/3 innings.

In reality, not a ton changed outside of his BABIP against, which went from .336 with the Royals to .292 with the A's. His FIPs at each spot were fairly similar at 3.24 (A's) and 3.68 (Royals), so the quality of pitches was roughly the same, he was just benefitting from slightly better results in a small sample size.

Still, Barnett is ranked as the A's second-best pitching prospect, behind only Luis Morales at No. 3 overall. We will presumably see Barnett begin in Triple-A Las Vegas in 2025, which would put him in line to make his MLB debut later in the summer.

Will Klein, RHP, 24

Jun 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Will Klein (36) pitches during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Will Klein could be the sneaky prospect involved in this deal. He made is MLB debut in April for Kansas City, then got a real stint with the team in May and June where he was able to log five appearances and a 6.35 ERA. He joined the A's in Oakland shortly after the trade, but he didn't stick around for long. He got into three games spanning 1 2/3 innings and gave up five earned runs on two hits and four walks.

Not the best start for Klein in the green and gold.

However, he also held a 3.71 FIP for the season, despite an ERA over ten (11.05). His pitches just didn't move the same with the A's as they did in his short stint with Kansas City. According to FanGraphs' pitch modeling data, Klein's "Stuff+" rated at a 113, while his "Location+" was at 105. For these, 100 is league average, so he was well above average for each. Those numbers are also fairly in line with where Erceg was over a much larger sample size this season.

With the A's, Klein's "Stuff+" came in at just a 91, while his "Location+" was predictably bad given the four free passes at a 78. Could we see a big leap forward for Klein in 2025, like we saw with Erceg this season? It's entirely possible.

He is ranked as the A's No. 16 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Jared Dickey, OF, 22

Tennessee outfielder Jared Dickey (17) runs to first during a NCAA College World Series elimination game between Tennessee and LSU at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. / Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ranked as the A's No. 27 prospect, Dickey spent his year in High-A split between the two organizations, batting a cumulative .259 with a .341 OBP and a .726 OPS. He also hit 10 homers and swiped 10 bags in 115 games. While the overall numbers were solid in his first full season after being selected in the 11th round of the 2023 Draft, they did take a dip when he joined the A's in Lansing.

He finished his stint in with the Lugnuts batting .237 with a .299 OBP and a .597 OPS in 34 games with the A's affiliate. His BABIP went from .318 with the Royals to .273 with the A's, so despite striking out a bit less at 15.6%, down nearly four percent, the rest of the numbers also fell due to the lower BABIP. His walk rate also fell by about three percent, which had an impact on his on-base sitting below .300 in his month worth of games.

Defensively, he split time in Lansing between left and right field, though if he is going to find a home in either corner long-term, his power numbers will likely have to go up a bit. As of right now, he looks like an interesting fourth outfielder type, but he's certainly someone to keep an eye on.