We have not checked in much with the vagabond Athletics of MLB recently, so tonight seemed like a great time to do it on Sunday Surmising, since the team just completed a four-game road sweep of the Houston Trashstros. It featured some rare pitching prowess from this year’s staff and also a historic feat that really deserves its own column. But we’re going to put them together tonight because we choose to do so, kiddos.

First, the sweep. The A’s are now 46-62 and on pace to win the same number of games they did last year when they played in Oakland (69). The team really needs to maintain an even strain, really, so this is good news in terms of continuing to build momentum for their expected move to Las Vegas in 2028. Going into Houston’s house and laying a beatdown on the AL West Division leaders was awesome to see, really. Duh.

But it’s how the Athletics did it: they outscored the Trashstros by a 32-7 margin across the four games, showing the offensive dominance the franchise is building with young hitting talent and also getting a flash of what the pitching staff can look like in a normal ballpark—far away from the tiny little bandbox of Sacramento that the team is playing in this season (and maybe the next two seasons as well, unfortunately).

Second, what about that pitching? The team’s road ERA is still atrocious (4.86), but it’s a heckuva lot better than the home ERA right now (5.40). Yet the post-All Star effort has been promising for the team, as it has posted a 4.13 ERA in the 10 games since the Midsummer Classic. We don’t expect that to hold up, but perhaps it does show the A’s can fix what ails them on the mound, one way or another, for next season.

The perception is accurate that the team is not going to be able to attract a lot of high-quality pitchers to toss their junk in Sacramento. But let’s say the team decides to try another minor-league park in 2026, say the one in Reno, for example. Maybe that perception changes with more positive results in the second half of this season. Yes, it may be a stretch, but the Athletics front office knows it has to build a staff somehow.

Third and lastly, the A’s offense is alive and well, teeming with young talent. We have to point out the obvious: first baseman Nick Kurtz is the best of them in his age-22 season, after he became the first MLB rookie to ever hit four home runs in one game on Friday night. It was a pretty amazing display of dominant ability, and through 67 games, he has 23 HRs now to go along with a .309 average and a 1.061 OPS. Wow!

He’s overshadowing his fellow rookie now, too, shortstop Jacob Wilson, just in his age-23 season, who was voted as the American League starter at his position for the All-Star Game. Throw in Tyler Soderstrom (age 23); Lawrence Butler (age 24); Denzel Clarke (age 25); and Shea Langeliers (age 27) … suddenly the A’s have a decent lineup of young hitters under club control for awhile, or at least until they get to Sin City.

They’re all led by two-time All Star Brent Rooker (age 30), who shone pretty brightly in the All-Star Home Run Derby earlier this month. Toss in closer Mason Miller (age 26)—an All-Star selection last year as a rookie—and the Athletics have a winning core in place, save for that starting rotation, which will be a focus of the offseason roster retooling, for sure. But the flashes of brilliance are already here, A’s fans. Enjoy it.