By Morris Phillips

Across the board, you pick the statistic, and the numbers reveal the A’s are trending toward a bounce back season in 2018.

But it’s the A’s, right? They’re always building.

True, but this time a group of youthful, talented players are in place, they’ve shown some acumen for winning at the big league level, and they may catch the rest of the AL West at a vulnerable moment.

Finishing the season with a 5-2 road win over Cole Hamels and the Rangers, winning 17 of 24, and going nearly the entire, second half of the season with a winning record (40-39) fosters that belief.

“I want guys, when they come to spring training next year, to be in a different mindset than we’ve been,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We want to hit the ground running.”

Oft-injured, and previously ineffective Daniel Mengden made the transition early, finishing 2017 strong, after two stints on the disabled list, strong enough that the 24-year old has put himself on the short list of candidates for next season’s starting rotation.

After Kendall Graveman and Sean Manaea, Mengden has put himself in a group with Jharel Cotton, Paul Blackburn, Andrew Triggs and Daniel Gossett as candidates for the other three spots. And, as they did last season, the A’s may elect to forgo signing a veteran starter, confident they can get consistent they can get quality starts out of their young, core group.

After Sunday’s seven innings of shutout baseball–in the hot, Texas sun, no less–Mengden has belief that previously seemed unattainable.

“Having some time last year, then getting back this year, I knew what I had to do and stuck to the plan,” Mengden said.