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Athletics’ Zack Gelof pumps up ‘slept on’ young teammates ahead of 2024

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Owen Crisafulli | Last updated 2/17/24

The Oakland Athletics are a team that is seemingly stuck at the bottom of the MLB for the foreseeable future. With a roster devoid of talent and a potential relocation to Las Vegas in the works, not much attention is being paid to the A’s as we head into the 2024 campaign. According to Zack Gelof, though, that may be just what the team wants.

One of the few bright spots in 2023 was Gelof, who made a 60-game debut with the team and quickly became one of the most exciting players on the team (.267 BA, 14 HR, 32 RBI, 14 SB, .840 OPS). Gelof will play a big role for the Athletics this upcoming season, and he encouraged the rest of his team to embrace their underdog role throughout the year.

“It’s pretty cool. Anything to bring attention to this team, because I think we have a bunch of talented guys in this room that are being slept on. The young guys we have in this clubhouse is the group that we have. It’s a mentality of, ‘We’re all that we need.’ I think we just have to rise to the occasion. Each individual has to step up and be ready to go, and I just want to be there for my teammates every day.” – Zack Gelof, MLB.com

Zack Gelof believes the Athletics can prove people wrong

You can’t blame Gelof for trying to stay positive, and who knows, maybe the Athletics can do some damage this season with people completely writing them off. They have amassed some talented prospects, like Gelof, who are looking to break through and help out at the major league level, so maybe if they get some unexpected contributions in that department, they could surprise folks.

Chances are even with that happening, Oakland will still be one of the worst teams in the league, but hey, at least it would be an improvement from last season. Gelof’s message is one that his teammates should certainly pay attention to, and it will at least be worth keeping tabs on the Athletics to see if they can manage to play better than they did last season when they went 50-112 on the year.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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