Aaron Cunningham

2013

There was no outlook written for Aaron Cunningham.

2012

Cunningham is the consumate bench player and probably worthy of the Quadruple-A player tag that people often use when a player's minor league totals just don't translate in the majors. On the farm, he's never posted an OBP lower than .364 save for one season and he always looked to have power developing into the 15-20 HR range, as evidenced by ISO totals in excess of .160 on a number of levels. However, once he gets to the show, virtually every offensive statistic goes south. Traded to the Cleveland Indians in the offseason, Cunningham will provide depth in the outfield, but will continue to remain a marginal fantasy option if he gets called up.

2011

Cunningham split time between Triple-A Portland and San Diego in 2010. With limited power and speed, he did about as well as one could hope in his time at the majors. He hit .288/.331/.417, although a .349 BABIP was probably more to thank than his skills were. He's likely a fourth or fifth outfielder who won't kill your fantasy team, should he find regular at-bats in San Diego's crowded outfield.

2010

Cunningham was a victim of the A's roster crunch to begin the season, resulting in a trip to Triple-A Sacramento after spring training. The A's never found an opportunity to hand him consistent playing time save for a one-week period in early June, so it’s no surprise he struggled in the majors (.151/.211/.245 in 53 at-bats) despite some success (.302/.372/.479 in 334 at-bats) in the minors. Rajai Davis' late-season emergence made him expendable and he was traded to San Diego. He'll compete for a starting job with the Padres but likely needs to prove himself with his new club first at Triple-A.

2009

Cunninghman was sidelined until early May with a broken wrist, but managed a nice .329/.400/.532 composite line in the minors for the year. He played regular for the A's in September, though his batting eye remains problematic. The A's outfield figures to be pretty crowded with Travis Buck, Matt Holliday and Ryan Sweeney so a return trip to the minors to start the season seems likely.

2008

Cunningham was acquired by Arizona in a swap for second baseman Danny Richar in June, and closed out the 2007 campaign at Double-A Mobile. Given his age, there's still plenty of time for him to adjust to the pitching at higher levels and cut back on his strikeouts (12:27 BB:K in 118 at-bats with Mobile). Between High-A and Double-A, Cunningham swiped 28 bags, but he'll need to learn how to be more selective on the basepaths as he was caught 14 times. Cunningham was included in the package sent to Oakland in the Dan Haren trade, so his path to the majors is much clearer now even if he's unlikely to make a big league debut before 2009.