27-year old lefty reliever/starter Travis Blackley is off to a good start for the A’s in the minors. Blackley has pitched in 7 games (4 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.63 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has whiffed 30 batters while walking 13 in 27 2/3 innings for the A’s in AAA. He will have to tighten up his control a bit before the A’s give him a chance. Blackley has pitched in 13 games (5 starts) for three different teams in AAA-ball this year and he is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.

The A’s are 43-46 on the season which has them in third place in the A.L. West, 7.5 games behind the Rangers. The A’s just don’t have any power and it has ruined the season so far. Here is a look at the surprises and disappointments for the A’s so far this year:

Pleasant Surprises: 22-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor Cahill has really developed in his second year in the majors. He has started 15 games for the A’s this year and he is 9-3 with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Cahill has only given up 70 hits in 95 innings this season as he’s missing a ton of bats. 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez has finally learned how to pitch. Gonzalez has started 18 games for the A’s this year and he is 7-6 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He still has walked 53 batters in 107 innings so Gonzalez is far from perfect. 27-year old righty swinging infielder Adam Rosales has played all over the place this season and he’s doing a solid job for the A’s. Rosales has played in 68 games for the A’s this season and he is 60 of 217 (.276 avg, .744 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 6 homers and 27 RBIs. 31-year old DH/OF Jack Cust started the season in the minors which was dumb of the A’s. Cust has played in 44 games for the A’s this year and he is 40 of 136 (.294 avg, .831 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 4 homers and 18 RBIs.

Disappointments: The A’s expected 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff to give them some thump in the starting lineup but it just hasn’t happened yet. Kouzmanoff has played in 86 games this season and he is 90 of 338 (.266 avg, .688 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 8 homers and 40 RBIs. The A’s signed starting pitcher Ben Sheets with one eye on the trade deadline but I don’t think they’re going to get much for him unless he pitches well in the next couple of weeks. Sheets has started 19 games for the A’s this season and he is 4-8 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. 31-year old righty reliever Michael Wuertz had a career year for the A’s in 2009 but he has been pretty awful this year when healthy. Wuertz has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) for the A’s this year and he is 2-1 with 1 save, a 5.60 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. 32-year old DH Eric Chavez started the season as the A’s full time DH and he was awful before injuring himself. Chavez has played in 33 games for the A’s this year and he is 26 of 111 (.234 avg, .610 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs.

The A’s are 41-43 on the season which has them in third place in the A.L. West, 8 games behind the Rangers. I think the A’s will wait another couple of weeks to decide whether they will be buyers or sellers. If the A’s become sellers they have a lot to move to other teams. Ben Sheets, Mark Ellis, Rajai Davis, Jack Cust, Coco Crisp, Brad Ziegler, Michael Wuertz and Jerry Blevins all likely will have good value for the A’s. The A’s also likely wouldn’t hesitate to trade Gabe Gross if they find a taker for him. I think A’s GM Billy Beane will get a good return for his players and I think he will be very aggressive especially if the A’s don’t play better the next couple of weeks.

The A’s have placed starting LF Conor Jackson on the 15-day disabled list with right hamstring tightness. Jackson has played in 14 games for the A’s so far this season and he is 12 of 45 (.267 avg, .676 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The A’s have recalled outfielders Matt Carson and Matt Watson from AAA. The 28-year old righty swinging Carson played in 4 games earlier this season for the A’s and he was 1 for 9 (.111 avg, .556 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. 31-year old lefty swinging Matt Watson has played in 28 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 36 of 115 (.313 avg, .958 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 8 homers and 23 RBIs. Watson last played in the majors in 2005 with the A’s. He has played in 34 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 13 of 71 (.183 avg, .470 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 7 RBIs.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor Cahill has been selected to play in his first All-Star Game. Cahill has started 13 games for the A’s this year and he is 8-2 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Cahill is missing a lot more bats than he did as a rookie. He has given up only 61 hits in 82 innings this season for the A’s. Cahill pitched in 32 games (all starts) as a rookie last season and he was 10-13 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The improvement Cahill has shown has the A’s excited and he definitely deserves the honor of being on the All-Star Team.