Could Max Muncy Be the Athletics’ Next Breakout?

While I still think Muncy’s strikeout numbers will be higher than you’d like, it becomes easier to stomach if the power plays up. His four home runs and five doubles this spring has flashed the type of power upside that he brings to this club.

A 38-home run pace is not something to bet on, but 20 long balls is within reach.

In order to reach his power potential, Muncy must improve his quality of contact and zone coverage. So far, the quality of contact is trending in the right direction. Last season, his average exit velocity was 87.1 mph and this spring it is up to 92.6 mph.

Not only is he hitting the ball hard, but he’s lifting the ball more, resulting in an untick in extra-base hits.

Via Baseball Savant

With one box checked, the next will be improving in different areas of the strike zone. The graphic above shows (from a catcher’s perspective) how Muncy fared in each area of the strike zone. The upper part of the zone is where most of his power and production came from while the lower third was a struggle.

The lower third is where Muncy saw most of his breaking balls and off-speed pitches, which resulted in over a 40% whiff rate. If his improvements on laying off balls outside of the zone continue into the regular season, he will start to see more pitches in the zone, allowing him more opportunity to do damage.

Muncy does not need to develop into a complete hitter in order to be productive. Better swing decisions should afford him enough opportunities to make an impact even if his swing and miss numbers are not spectacular. He’s athletic enough to rack up extra-base hits even if his power is average.

Will Defense Hold Him Back?

Muncy was drafted out of high school as a shortstop and played 278 games at the position during his minor-league career. In 2025, his rookie season, Muncy appeared in only seven games at the position as Jacob Wilson has cemented himself as the long-term starter.

Muncy bounced between second and third, but the addition of Jeff McNeil and Zack Gelof still in the mix makes second base a bit more crowded.

So, Muncy is left learning a new position and one that he only played 161 innings at during his minor-league career.

Third base was a struggle right out of the gate. Six errors in 32 games in 2025 was not the start anyone would had hoped for, but it was understandable considering how new he was to the hot corner.

Athletically, Muncy has the tools to pan out. An adequate arm and footwork of a natural shortstop, experience and time on task is needed.

“Our biggest focus right now is on the defense. We’ve been working really hard with him in those areas, and we’ve seen some improvement. We’re going to continue to follow that progress,” said manager Mark Kotsay to reporters last week.

For what it’s worth, the A’s have sacrificed defense for offense in the past. Last season, they moved Miguel Andujar from left to third in order to get Tyler Soderstrom in the lineup, sacrificing defense at third. Muncy is a naturally better defender than Andujar, so I expect the A’s to give him plenty of time to get his feet under him.

I’m sure it will be a learning curve, but all you ask for is improvement. Muncy will need to get a feel for the different angles and timing that come with making the throw to first while also improving his footwork at a position in which the ball gets to you quicker.

If he struggles defensively early in the year, that’s okay. If he’s still making the same mistakes as the year goes on, there could be a problem.

Final Thoughts

We can debate how important spring training performance is or isn’t until we are blue in the face. Bottom line, Max Muncy is displaying an ability that I did not expect. At least not this early in his career. There’s still a lot that he needs to prove, but we now have some proof that the ability is there.

The A’s do not need Muncy to develop into a middle-of-the-order bat. They already have that covered. All they need is the type of production that, when talking about a Max Muncy, makes people ask, “Which one?” I think he can get there, and further, in 2026.