Sonny Gray, pitcher, Oakland A’s
Oakland Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray had an injury-filled, misery-inducing 2016. Coming off a campaign in which he was one of the best pitchers in baseball, Gray posted a 5.69 ERA and 4.67 FIP, with his WAR dropping by 6.3 wins between 2015 and 2016.
However, he remains the de-facto ace on a straggling A’s team. Sean Manaea and Kendall Graveman were both solid last season, but neither will fetch a big haul if Billy Beane starts to deal. Gray will, but he has to prove that last season was a fluke brought on by injury.
There is already a good case for the injury making a big impact. In July of 2015, opponents hit .250 against Gray’s fourseam fastball, .080 against his sinker and .083 against his changeup, per Brooks Baseball. A year later, they hit .375 against the fastball, .349 against the sinker and .600 against the change. That sort of drastic shift, most of the time, doesn’t just happen.
Of course, this is a two-pronged challenge for Gray. Before he can think about pitching, he needs to stay healthy. Gray reportedly hired a personal trainer to help with that, but A’s fans will be waiting with bated breath to see whether he will be his former self.