When 3rd baseman Max Muncy — the Athletics’ first-round draught prime successful 2021 — was optioned to the Las Vegas Aviators this month, the enactment gave him a wide assignment: Limit swings extracurricular of the onslaught zone, and larn to play near field.
Muncy wasted nary clip showing helium tin bash both. This play with the A’s, the 23-year-old averaged a strikeout each 2.65 at-bats. Since rejoining the Aviators (57-37) connected July 11, helium has struck retired 3 times successful 5 games — a gait of erstwhile each 6.66 ABs.
Aviators manager Fran Riordan is besides impressed with however Muncy has manned near field, a presumption helium hasn’t played since precocious school.
“He’s been outstanding retired there,” Riordan said. “He looks truly natural, and his movements are good. His actions are good. Max is specified a large energy, and he’s specified a large player.
“To person him successful our lineup for nevertheless agelong it is, is simply a immense plus.”
This isn’t the archetypal clip Muncy has made a displacement to the outfield. The Athletics drafted Muncy arsenic a shortstop retired of Thousand Oaks High School adjacent Los Angeles, wherever helium was teammates with existent A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson. With the varsity squad having a surplus of infielders his freshman year, Muncy moved to the outfield.
The pursuing year, Muncy staked his assertion astatine shortstop and starred for the Lancers. The Athletics selected him 25th wide successful 2021, and helium rapidly moved his mode done the insignificant league system. After hitting .277 for Las Vegas successful 2024, Muncy made the A’s opening time roster successful 2025, chiefly playing 3rd basal successful the majors.
Muncy divided past play betwixt the Aviators and Athletics, but struggled to consistently deed large league pitching. He deed .214 successful 63 games with the A’s past year, striking retired 68 times successful 206 at-bats.
This play with the Athletics, Muncy’s woes continued, hitting .227 successful 46 games and missing clip with a fracture successful his near hand. His show — combined with outfielder Tyler Soderstrom’s instrumentality from the injured database and the emergence of versatile infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer — led to the A’s determination to enactment Muncy to Triple-A connected July 8.
“He’s got to amended connected his swinging retired of the zone,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said then. “He’s precise talented. We consciousness that helium could beryllium a large portion of this thing. …
“When helium swings astatine the shot that’s successful the zone, helium does damage. I deliberation that’s going to beryllium a large portion of his growth.”
The Aviators activated Muncy connected July 11, and helium went 3-for-4 with a location tally that time successful a triumph implicit the Tacoma Rainiers. Though Las Vegas mislaid 2 of 3 past play to the Round Rock Express successful a abbreviated roadworthy series, Muncy notched hits successful each game, including a location tally Saturday.
Riordan admired however Muncy has taken this situation head-on, putting successful the enactment to get backmost to the A’s.
“He’s doing a large occupation of controlling the onslaught zone, and I cognize that’s thing that helium wants to get amended at,” Riordan said. “He’s moving truly hard. He’s got a large cognition astir it, and he’s present with the close mindset.”
Buelvas keeps bashing
Since July 4, outfielder Brayan Buelvas has provided plentifulness of discourtesy for the Aviators, hitting .333 with 3 location runs.
“The much comfy helium gets, the much astatine bats helium gets, the much assurance helium gets,” Riordan said. “When you person that assurance that you deliberation you’re going to bash large things, a batch of times, the accumulation and the show follows.”
In the 4th inning of Sunday’s 5-4 nonaccomplishment to Round Rock, Buelvas gave Las Vegas a 4-3 pb connected a 387-foot two-run homer — his 5th with the Aviators and eighth full this year.
Las Vegas’ erstwhile homestand against Tacoma was Buelvas’ champion bid since getting promoted from Double-A Midland successful May. On July 10 against the Rainiers, helium launched 2 agelong balls — the second of which cleared the Las Vegas Ballpark scoreboard, going 444 feet.
Aviators flex antiaircraft versatility
After Cade Marlowe exercised an opt-out clause successful his contract, becoming a escaped cause connected Thursday, Las Vegas mislaid not conscionable a salient bat — Marlowe deed .317 with a team-best 24 steals — but a susceptible outfielder, too.
The Aviators’ roster presently has conscionable 2 full-time outfielders: Buelvas and Jared Dickey.
Riordan has a fistful of players who tin tract aggregate positions, though. Muncy isn’t the lone vocation infielder spending clip successful the outfield, arsenic some Drew Swift and Michael Stefanic person played there, too. Catcher Bryan Lavastida has besides played near tract and some country infield positions successful his pro career.
“They consciousness comfy whether it’s infield oregon outfield, and they conscionable benignant of clasp the accidental connected immoderate fixed day,” Riordan said. “It’s conscionable a substance of what they tin bash to assistance the squad win.”
Up next
Who: Las Vegas Aviators vs. El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres affiliate)
When: Tuesday-Sunday
Where: Las Vegas Ballpark
Promotions: Tuesday — Copa de la Diversión; Wednesday — Bark connected the Berm; Thursday — $2 brew night; Friday — Harry Potter 4 location chapeau giveaway; Saturday — Harry Potter pinstripe jersey giveaway
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