With Scott Sizemore out for the year, 3B will be an open competition this spring. 26-year old righty swinging Josh Donaldson is likely the early favorite for the job. He came into this season as the A’s #20 prospect according to Baseball America. Donaldson has been a catcher so far in his career, so defense is going to be a challenge for him. He played in 14 games for the A’s last year and he was 5 for 32 (.156 avg, .487 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He whiffed a stunning 12 times for the A’s, so he was overmatched. He also played in 115 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 116 of 444 (.261 avg, .783 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 17 homers, 70 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

28-year old righty swinging Adam Rosales will also be in the hunt for the 3B job this spring. He played in 24 games for the A’s last year and he was 6 for 61 (.098 avg, .358 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. Rosales has now played in 104 games in his first two years with the A’s and he is 116 of 444 (.237 avg, .651 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers, 39 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Rosales has now played in 209 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 130 of 575 (.226 avg, .630 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 13 homers, 60 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Rosales had 2 errors in 6 games at 3B last year for the A’s and he showed pretty poor range.

25-year old lefty swinging Eric Sogard comes into this season as the A’s #22 prospect according to Baseball America. Sogard played in 27 games for the A’s last year and he was 14 for 70 (.200 avg, .572 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. He also played in 79 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 94 of 315 (.298 avg, .791 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 5 homers, 37 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Sogard has now played in 31 games in his first two years with the A’s and he is 17 for 77 (.221 avg, .615 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Sogard didn’t make any errors in 10 games at 3B while showing pretty awful range.

33-year old righty swinging Wes Timmons is a longshot for the 3B job. He played in 95 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 118 of 346 (.341 avg, .888 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 8 homers, 62 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Timmons has now played in 998 games in his first 10 years in the minors and he is 932 of 3,299 (.283 avg, .782 OPS) with 510 runs scored, 46 homers, 388 RBIs and 100 stolen bases. He has yet to play in the majors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: F+

27-year old switch-hitting Cliff Pennington is going to be the unquestioned starter at SS for the A’s again in 2012, but they hope he improves in a couple of areas. Pennington played in 148 games for the A’s last year and he was 136 of 515 (.264 avg, .687 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 8 homers, 58 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Pennington has now played in 400 games in his first 4 years with the A’s and he is 345 of 1,330 (.259 avg, .695 OPS) with 162 runs scored, 18 homers, 134 RBIs and 54 stolen bases. Pennington played in 147 games at SS in 2011 for the A’s and he made 22 errors while showing awful range. The A’s are likely going to turn Pennington loose on the base paths but they need him to really improve defensively in 2012.

Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales are competing for the starting 3B job this spring and the utility infielder job as well. Sogard played in 14 games at SS last year for the A’s and he made 1 error while showing awful range. Adam Rosales had 2 errors in 7 games at SS for the A’s last year and he showed awful range. The A’s better hope Cliff Pennington stays healthy in 2012.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2012: C-

The Oakland A’s have high expectations for 25-year old switch-hitting 2B Jemile Weeks. Weeks played in 97 games for the A’s last year and he was 123 of 406 (.303 avg, .761 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 2 homers, 36 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. The A’s are going to let Weeks run wild on the bases to try to force the issue with opposing teams defensively. Weeks had 13 errors in 96 games at 2B last year while showing pretty awful range. The A’s hope Weeks hits well in 2012 while also improving his defense. They love his upside, which is pretty huge.

25-year old lefty swinging Eric Sogard and 28-year old righty swinging Adam Rosales are likely going to duke it out to see who will be the utility man in 2012. Sogard had 1 error in 3 games at 2B for the A’s last year, but he showed below average range there. Rosales played in 3 error-free games at 2B for the A’s last year and he showed off terrible range.

PROJECTED GRADE AT 2B IN 2012: B

26-year old lefty swinging Daric Barton enters spring training with a slight edge on the field. Barton played in 67 games for the A’s last year and he was 50 for 236 (.212 avg, .592 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 0 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 438 games in his first five yeas in the majors and he is 371 for 1,470 (.252 avg, .740 OPS) with 212 runs scored, 26 homers, 157 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Barton had 8 errors in 65 games at 1B for the A’s last year as he is a sub par defensive player. Barton doesn’t have the power that most teams look for at 1B, but he walks a lot which fits into the A’s style of play.

26-year old lefty swinging Brandon Allen played in 52 games for the D-Backs & A’s last year and he was 35 for 175 (.200 avg, .654 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers, 18 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Allen has now played in 106 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 68 for 324 (.210 avg, .680 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 11 homers and 38 RBIs. Allen has whiffed a stunning 128 times already in his major league career as he has been an all or nothing hitter to this point in his career. Allen had 4 errors in 51 games at 1B last season, so he’s an average defensive 1B at best.

25-year old righty swinging Chris Carter comes into this season as the A’s #7 prospect according to Baseball America. Carter played in 15 games for the A’s last year and he was 6 for 44 (.136 avg, .310 OPS) with 2 runs scored. He has now played in 39 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 19 for 114 (.167 avg, .480 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Carter has whiffed 41 times while only walking 9 times so far in his major league career as he has been a hacker. Carter had 1 error in 11 games at 1B for the A’s last year. Carter has the highest upside of this bunch if he can get his act together this spring.

27-year old lefty swinging Kila Ka’aihue played in 23 games for the Royals last year and he was 16 for 82 (.195 avg, .612 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 87 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 61 for 283 (.216 avg, .683 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 11 homers and 32 RBIs. Ka’aihue is a longshot in this competition.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2012: D-

28-year old righty swinging Kurt Suzuki will be the starting catcher for the A’s once again in 2012. He played in 134 games for the A’s last year and he was 109 for 460 (.237 avg, .686 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 14 homers, 44 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 628 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 586 for 2,268 (.258 avg, .706 OPS) with 264 runs scored, 56 homers, 284 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Suzuki played in 129 games behind the plate last year for the A’s and he had 7 errors and 5 passed balls. Suzuki only nailed 23 of 136 (16.9%) base stealers and A’s pitchers had a 3.78 ERA with Suzuki behind the plate.

29-year old switch-hitting Landon Powell is in camp as a non-roster player and he is likely one of the favorites to backup Kurt Suzuki in 2012. He played in 36 games for the A’s last year and he was 19 for 111 (.171 avg, .471 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 123 games in his first three years with the A’s and he is 75 for 363 (.207 avg, .612 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 45 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Powell played in 33 games behind the plate for the A’s last year and he had 2 errors and 1 passed ball. He did throw out 6 of 25 (24%) base stealers last year and A’s pitchers had a sparkling 2.70 ERA when Powell was catching.

28-year old righty swinging Anthony Recker finally got to the majors last year. He played in 5 games for the A’s last year and he was 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .569 OPS) with 3 runs scored. Recker also played in 99 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 99 for 345 (.287 avg, .889 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 16 homers, 48 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Recker played in 5 games behind the plate for the A’s last year and he had 1 error and 0 passed balls. He was also 0 for 5 (0%) throwing out base stealers and A’s pitchers had a 8.36 ERA with him behind the plate.

26-year old righty swinging Josh Donaldson played in 115 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 116 of 444 (.261 avg, .783 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 17 homers, 70 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He did play in 14 games in 2010 for the A’s and he was 5 for 32 (.156 avg, .487 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He is a longshot to make the A’s this spring.

23-year old righty swinging Derek Norris came to the A’s over the winter in the Gio Gonzalez deal with the Nationals. He played in 104 games in AA-ball for the Nationals last year and he was 70 for 334 (.210 avg, .813 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 20 homers, 46 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Norris has now played in 431 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 353 for 1,419 (.249 avg, .861 OPS) with 278 runs scored, 69 homers, 232 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Norris could be the A’s starting catcher in the near future but he will likely start the 2012 season in the minors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: C