Sean Murphy (C, OAK) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

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OWNED IN: 23% of leagues

ANALYSIS: If you took a look at any preseason odds for who would win the AL Rookie of the Year distinction for this season, you certainly saw Sean Murphy on the majority of shortlists, and that projection was well earned after Murphy earned five doubles, four home runs, and a .245/.333/.566 slash in a 53-AB glimpse in 2019 of what was potentially to come for the Athletics. The Wright State product got off to a very disappointing start for the 2020 MLB campaign, but has rebounded in substantial fashion over the last two weeks with four XBH (three doubles, one HR), seven walks against five strikeouts, and a .308/.455/.538 slash in 26 AB.

Murphy is a consensus top-50 prospect in the game, and that reputation wasn't built on a foundation of rumors and hype; the 25-year-old catcher has been a force of nature in the minor leagues since ascending to the upper echelons of Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, with 47 XBH (33 doubles, two triples, 12 HR), three steals, and a .254/.328/.417 slash in 448 Double-A AB and 17 XBH (six doubles, one triple, ten HR), 18 walks against 33 strikeouts, and a slash of .305/.395/.602 in 128 AB for Triple-A. The only catching competition in Oakland currently comes from Austin Allen, and he has also gotten off to a horrendous start at the plate, except with no recovery in sight. It seems as if the A's planned to let Sean Murphy learn from the experience of struggling and hopefully hit his way out of the slump, and at nearly the halfway point for the 2020 MLB season, that plan is paying dividends not a moment too soon.