A's Get: Stephen Piscotty: 9 HR, .235/.342/.367, 3 SB, 92 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR
Cardinals Get: Max Schrock: 7 HR, .321/.379/.422, 4 SB, 128 wRC+ at AA
Yairo Munoz: 13 HR, .300/.330/.464, 22 SB, 109 wRC+ at AA and AAA
The Stephen Piscotty trade makes for a pretty good story. Piscotty, a San Francisco Bay Area native, had a down year in 2017 as his mother was diagnosed with ALS and he struggled with balancing the demands of professional baseball with his mother's illness. In response, the Cardinals made a classy move and shipped him from St. Louis across the country to Oakland, where he can play just a half hour from his hometown of Pleasanton. Playing closer to his mother, Piscotty could see a big bounce back and look more like his 2016 self, where he slashed .273/.343/.457 with 22 home runs over 153 games, good for a 116 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR. That stands in contrast to 2017, where he slashed .235/.342/.367 with nine home runs in 107 games, good for a 92 wRC+ and 0.2 fWAR. The A's aren't quite contenders yet, but he joins a young core that includes Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Chase Pinder, and the up and coming Franklin Barreto and Renato Nunez on offense as well a slew of arms. Due to the big extension he signed prior to the 2017 season, he's under contract for five years and just over $32 million, plus a $15 million club option for 2023, which means he'll be around by the time the A's start contending. If he can maintain his high walk rate and get back to his old ways of hitting, Piscotty is one of the players the A's will build around for the next half decade. For his career, the former Stanford Cardinal has 38 home runs, a .268/.346/.438 slash line, and 4.2 fWAR over 323 games.
Going back to St. Louis are two great prospects in Max Schrock and Yairo Munoz. Schrock, a 13th round pick out of the University of South Carolina by the Nationals in 2015, has become a fan favorite due to his gritty play. The 5'8" second baseman has simply hit and hit and hit everywhere he has gone, and that was certainly the case in 2017. In 106 games with AA Midland this year, he slashed .321/.379/.422 with seven home runs, good for a 128 wRC+. He also put up a very respectable 42/34 strikeout to walk ratio, and while that 7.4% walk rate could use a little bump, his 9.2% strikeout rate is sufficiently low enough to bring confidence in his ability to carry his hitting to the highest level. Schrock is definitely a name to watch in St. Louis. Equally highly regarded is Yairo Munoz, a 22 year old infielder who reached AAA in 2017. Starting with AA Midland, Munoz proved to be too much for the league, slashing .316/.348/.532 with six home runs and 12 stolen bases in 47 games (good for a 140 wRC+), earning a promotion to AAA Nashville. There, he more than held his own, slashing .289/.316/.414 with seven home runs and ten stolen bases in 65 games (good for an 86 wRC+). At this point, learning to draw more walks could raise his value significantly, but maintaining his average power in the big leagues would also be a boon. If he does both, he could be the Cardinals' starting third baseman within a couple years. If not, he still profiles as a solid utility man who can play all over the diamond, including shortstop.
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