Oakland A’s Farm System Is LOADED With Talent | Top Prospects Update 2025

Oakland A’s Farm System Is LOADED With Talent | Top Prospects Update 2025

Time for another team top prospect update. Here you got Arm late and Jack McMullen. Of course, it’s the callup and we’re talking athletics top 15 prospects here. These are going to be a little bit more expedited as we’ve talked about because it’s not a full overhaul and completely new look at the team top prospect list in terms of like starting from scratch. It’s updates from, you know, what we had maybe going into the season uh or at some point during the season. I think with the athletics it was going into the season. Uh but you had some graduates, you had some trades. This is probably one of the more changed farm systems from uh I just think a names in the top 15 uh for multiple reasons, Jack, because we had the graduation of some very exciting young players like Nick Curts and Jacob Wilson. And then you had a rare blue chip prospect traded to them along with some others and Leo Dere and several others, you know, in that Mason Miller trade. So, this might be one of the more fun updates that we’re going to have because of how different the system looks, but how strong it still is. We also saw so many prospects that were already within the system grow as prospects over the course of this season. Like a name that I know we’re going to dive into a little bit more is Joshua Cora Grower. Like we what we learned about Cora Grower this year only boosted him in the prospect conversation. a Stephen Etavveria that guy like he boosts himself within the prospect conversation. So not only was there acquisition and addition to it you had growth within the system as well and that’s what makes good systems like okay player development guys get better and then you also add good guys. It’s oh what’s what are the three-word mantras? It’s like uh add good talent and or add good people and make people good. Something like that. But that’s what the athletic sounds good to me. Yeah, I like that. I like that one. Um, it’s it’s interesting too because I think we’ve talked about how well they’ve kind of drafted over the years and I think you also add in this draft class. Um, you know, and even you think about it, we’ve talked a lot about Gage jump, but if we’re comparing it to where the system was before, it was not accounting for top 100 prospect gauge jump going into the season. So, another guy that made a huge leap there. Then you have the draft kind of I think working in an ideal scenario for them where they’re able to go get one of the top arms in a Jamie Arnold uh who has tons of upside who you’re really excited about. And then I loved even the complimentary pick of like a a Devin Taylor um and you know Gavin Turley. So they they’re in they’re in a really interesting spot in terms of the the prospect depth even with the graduates. And we talk about it like I I want to do farm system rankings first, but a really fun article I think would be talent under 25 years old. Yeah. When it comes to talent under 25 years old, that that is I think the athletics are as good as any. Uh when it comes to that department or like talent with five plus years of control, whatever it may be, however you want to spin it, uh I think the athletics are in a really really good spot there. So, we have the pre or we don’t I think this is one of the last systems where we won’t reference the previous rankings because I updated them before we we documented it. I’ve got the previous rankings. Okay. Yeah. So, we’re good. So, do you want to just walk us through real quick what the previous top 15 was and then we’ll kind of go from, you know, a couple of the names to watch that are new and then 15 downwards and just spend a little bit more time on the biggest movers. Yes. And while you were talking, I remembered it was get good players and players get good. Those are the three-word mantras, which makes a lot of sense. Like so simple, it just might work. Again, get good players, that’s the acquisition, and players get good. That’s the development phase of a farm. You do those two things, you’re in a pretty good spot. You’re in a really good spot. So, the previous top 15 that we had, we had Jacob Wilson at number one. We had Nick Curts at number two. Number three was Luis Morales. Maxy was number four. Mason Barnett five, Henry Bolty six, Jack Perkins was seven, Denzel Clark was eight, Kobby Thomas nine, Daniel Susac 10, Stevenia 11, Tommy White 12, Cade Morris 13, Josh Kota Grower 14, and Grant Holman was 15. So that was the previous ranking before the 25 season began. I remember getting to that like 11 12 range and I’m like, okay, you know, and and so it just shows you how much better the system is now. and some of those guys even just taking leaps as we mentioned. But one, it’s very funny like Jacob Wilson over Nick Curts. I I don’t even think that was much of a thought for me at the time because the floor was so high for Wilson and now it’s like I mean you want to do over on that, right? I mean Nick Kurt’s one of the best power hitters in the sport. Like Jacob Wilson was an all-star shortstop. Yeah, I know. I know. I know. That’s And again, great situation to be in. Um Perkins I I don’t think anybody had him in the top 10 in the system. Just saying going into the year. So that was a good one by us. Uh but then some of the others that were interesting like I think I think there was I was expecting a little bit more out of Barnett. He struggled with the PCL and you I think as he got up to to to the altitude and not missing as many bats. I think maybe the VO wasn’t totally there. Just another interesting wrinkle. We’ll talk a little bit about him. Uh but overall I I think I feel pretty decent about the way those things that that list shook out. And also, Morales is another guy that I think now clearly with the big league debut he had. You know, we were always kind of the high guys on Morales. Seems like he’s now a consensus, you know, top 100 guy given what he did. Um, just some of the other names to watch real quick that are new. Uh, Chitaaro my two-way player that they signed out of Japan, uh, was the headliner of the 2025 class for 1.5 million. He can run up to the mid90s on the mound and yeah, there’s some intriguing aspects to what he can do offensively as well. Um, I think it’s important to him to do the two-way thing. He hasn’t fully done it as a pro yet. I think they’ve eased him into the Arizona Complex League, but I I was able to get a little bit of video of him in the ACL and I I did like the operation for, you know, a young two-way guy. So, I just just a fascinating player. Uh, I know a big chase in 2025 Bowman Chrome because, you know, anytime he can get the two-way player, uh, that there’s going to be a lot of excitement around that. But, I think what’s nice whether he can do the two-way thing or not is you have two different paths here. one, you know, dries up a little bit where he can legitimately be, you know, an intriguing player, whether it’s on the mound or as a bat. Um, and of course in the off chance that he can do both. And you have a really dynamic prospect here in player. Um, Eduardell Nunees, he came in that Mason Miller return. Uh, it’s a fast ball that averages 98. It’s a it’s a power curveball in the upper 80s. It’s two disgusting pitches. He just needs to not walk 13% of batters. But I I have a good feeling that he’s going to be a bullpin arm in some capacity next year. Gotcha. Sprayer. But like I’m I’m excited to see Yeah. I’m just I’ve watched him so much in Hay and TripleA and I’m like, “Oh, this is nauseating.” But you know what? Give it a shot. He clearly found something in San Diego and now here’s the hoping he can find something more in Sacramento. Chenzong Azwang. Awang. Good try. Chenzhong. Awang. I was Wayne Wang that I can’t I can’t get it. But uh he he is a little bit older for for the class, but another guy that elevated himself this year though. I mean he he threw a ton of innings. Um 128 innings at a 295 RA um you know entering the season. And then I still think like even though the numbers weren’t that incredible like from a run prevention standpoint, the fact that he went 145 and two/3 innings at doublea with a respectable four erra and a really good K tob rate like I think you’re always looking at like a backend starter fringe five guy, whatever. He looks like he can be that guy now, especially building up the innings. Um, you know, so that’s just another interesting player that signed out of Taiwan that elevated himself a little bit. Real quick before we go into the top 15 too, Ryan Lasco, um, yeah, not the most exciting or sexy player, but when we saw in the AFL, I think you were with me for one of the throws he made from center field that was outrageous. Um, he’s toolled up defensively. Offensively, it’s not the most exciting profile, but it’s not bad. Like, everything is okay across the board. So if he’s a 90 WRC plus and he needs to take another step forward to be that at the big league level cuz he’s kind of been close to that in the minor leagues. But if he can be anywhere near a 90-ish WRC plus, his plus speed, his just ridiculous ability to cover ground in the outfield, his plus arm will make him a, you know, at least a solid bench piece and potentially a fourth outfielder. So I was just really impressed with the tools Alasco and the approach is decent and he’s going to be a big leaker for them. I I think there’s no doubt about that. Your family, your family, your religion in Rutgers baseball. Ryan Lasco, shut up. Rutgers baseball. Him and uh Jawan Harris. Um just a name and uh and Corona Grower, right? Isn’t Corona Grower? They got a little pipeline going from Ruters to the Athletics. That is the most obscure pipeline you could possibly imagine. Hey, it’s running. Uh Gavin Turley is one of the new guys. He’s a 16 here. offensive monster in college. It was just, okay, what else are you going to get there? And there’s a lot of underlying swing and miss. So, in the fourth round though, I think it was a great shot to take. He was incredibly effective. Uh, obviously at Oregon State and like when we’re talking about middle, I don’t want to say middle rounds because there’s 20 rounds, but once you start to get like outside of the third round, you know, I’m always a proponent of drafting the college guy who produced. You have above average power, above average speed. Um, and if it can even be a 40 great hit tool, like there’s a platoon or interesting role here. And who knows, maybe he makes a leap bat to ballwise and now you have a a really fascinating player. But at least there’s an interesting power speed combination here with the outfielder Turley who looks like he can be fine in in a corner as well. So another solid get to to just lengthen out this farm system a little bit. Um, yeah, I don’t know if you have anything to add. He was he was really good in the college. And I don’t know about the College World Series, but down the stretch and and you know, a lot of the games that I watched, he was he was impressive. Yeah. Gunner Hogland kind of holding pattern at 15. Uh he unfortunately just I think missed some time again with injury, but when he was on the mound, looked like he could be that depth kind of innings eater type of guy. And he made his debut in Miami against the Marlins. And it was legit to watch. Hogland was a guy we talked about it. He was just kind of filling up the strike zone with absolutely everything. He he screams five. When you close your eyes and try and dream, it’s not like you see anything more than a four, but like a four or five guy, that’s valuable for the A’s who need warm bodies in the starting rotation. 100%. And I think nothing jumps off the page, but if you got an average heater, an average slider, an a slightly above average change up, above average command, and a bridge cutter, you can get outs when you’re executing and and be a fine five, as you mentioned. Yep. Devin Taylor was a guy that I thought would go a little bit higher in the draft. and another player where I think there was some underlying lift that that kind of bucked I think made models weigh him down a little bit especially with with not a ton of defensive value. Um but I think that’s where again the athletics just seem to to find uh efficiencies and or inefficiencies in the models and and grab players that I think get weighed down too much maybe by some swing and misconcri zone above average power. the numbers were really really good at Indiana and I I just I like the operation from the left side of the plate and he he’s been able to run into some baseballs. He had a really solid collegiate career. Um thought he looked fine in his pro debut. So we’ll see. But just another college bat to grab in the second round that I mean looks like he can at least have a decent chance to be a platoon bat, you know, and maybe a book platoon bat. Yeah. Kade Morris. I don’t know if he would. Where was Kade Morris in the top 15 before? Was he not in it? I don’t think he was Was in the top. Yeah, he was. He was 13. So, he rises a spot to 12 or I guess he stays now at 13. Yes. Yeah. Accidentally graduated Morales and then ungraduated him. So, holding pattern for Morris. That’s pretty good though when you get up to the uh to the the uh PCL and and don’t see your numbers totally just taper off. It’s a kitchen sink guy. Uh, and I another kind of back end similar copy paste Gunnar Hogland, but maybe a little bit more upside because the slider’s above average and um, you know, I think a little bit more uh, ability to potentially eat innings. This guy was not in the top 15. Weigh-in win. Um, I the numbers are are pretty fascinating. I mean, just not on a radar for us really much at all. $1.3 million snee in 2024. Left-handed pitcher 6’2 180. Fast balls above average. The cutter is disgusting. And I that that was the the funny part is, you know, I don’t think I was expecting there to be like a a plus pitch with him when I was watching the video. Um but here he is just dicing guys up with this cutter. By the way, 19 years old last year, the command, he had a 77% strike rate on the fast ball. Yeah, it was 91 92, but crazy run to it. um and just deception that just clearly had hitters uncomfortable between low A and high A. They managed his workload a little bit carefully like it was only you know two three innings spurts a lot of the time um towards the end of the season but we saw some outings where he went you know five or six innings a couple times earlier in the year but his fast ball had a chase rate of 43%. A 91 and a half mile per hour average fast ball velocity that’s getting chased north of 40% is crazy. So, that just shows you that there’s some deception built in there. And then that that that cutter just seemed to piece up hitters um and was incredibly effective for him as well. It’s, you know, a matter of finding that third pitch and he flashed a splitter a little bit as well and then a taste breaking curveball. But, uh he’s got good command. There’s clearly some deception and some life to the fast ball. at 19 years old. It was a pretty darn good season between low A and high A for weigh- in Lynn and two starts in double A with Midland which is so darn nuts. Yeah, that’s crazy. But you know what? If they’re going to start pushing guys, I’m I’m totally in. But you know, in the last start of the season at DoubleA in Amarillo, he went three and a third, one run, two walked sixks. Yeah, that’s legit, man. I mean, it I feel like with these kind of guys, it’s pushed them until they, you know, start to get honestly lit up with how good he was in low and high at such a young age. It’s like, okay, we’re going to keep testing you. We’re going to keep testing you. Obviously, you don’t let that guy get to the big leagues and get ambushed. But, I mean, damn, like Atlanta did it with Diddy Fuentes. It’s like the there are organizations now that keep on kind of pushing boundaries. It’s it’s teetering on uncomfortable. As close as you can get to uncomfortable for these guys, that’s how they grow. Yep. And and I think the success that they’re starting to have internationally is really fascinating, too. And I think they’re identifying these just more polished pitchers that they feel like they can push. And this is a guy, too, as a southpaw that I think you you’re going to watch him throw a little bit more and you’re gonna say, “Oh, man. I love this delivery.” Like, it’s smooth. He repeats it really well. What’s funny is there’s not a ton of funk to it. So, I am fascinated by the fact that he’s able to get so much whiff and chase on the heater. It’s must be some sort of slight what is high spin, which is interesting. Like despite being in the low 90s, his fast ball averages holy crap. I’m watching him throw some fast balls north of 2500. His fastball averages nearly 2500 RPM. So there’s there’s something about the way that that’s exploding through the plate and staying up through the top. Even though it’s not a ton of of induced vertical break, that spin is doing something. It has to be because the chase is so high and there just the numbers don’t really make a ton of sense. Like it was 25% in zone whiff rate, 43% chase on a fast ball that’s 91 and a half with like what seems on the surface to be generic movement profile. So clearly he can spin the baseball. It’s a really smooth and loweffort delivery. There’s room for more strength, too. He’s probably He might be a breakout pick for me going into next year just with everything he can do. Love that shout. That’s a good deep cut shout that you need. So, I’m going to write that down. Yeah, please before I forget because, you know, I’m going to say, “Oh, I can’t think of the breakout guys.” And then we’ll try to remember. But, I mean, you’re spinning at 2500 RPM. he finds a little bit if Lynn finds a little bit more spin efficiency, finds a little bit more ride with that fast ball and you know that clearly yeah he can he could just manipulate the baseball a little bit. 19 years old to have the year that he had I think could be a little bit more of a riser. Love it. You mentioned Josh Carro Growler. Um I mean it was just a really solid season. Like what else would you really have wanted to see from him? He solidified the the bat-to ball department which is just clearly that was that was the asset, right? Like, and another reason why he slipped to the third round in 2024 is because it was okay, bats a ball, but is he going to stick it short? Is it 20 grade power? Like, I think again, a lot of draft models are not going to love that. Uh, and that’s where the A’s kind of say, okay, well, if your model is going to push this guy into our lap, we’ll take him. And that’s exactly what they do here. And is is Kota Grower going to be the the face of the franchise? No. But I think he has a really good chance at filling a big league role for you. and you you pick that up in the third round. I think he really validated that this year. And most importantly, he validated it because of the defense. I watched a lot of the defensive video with him and does he have phenomenal tools? No. But he he kind of does everything that he needs to do. He gets the ball out quick, accurate arm, uh he moves his feet well enough, and has the the instincts to to make all the plays he needs to make at shortstop. So great average shortstop, above average second base. Great. You can move that guy all over the infield now. Great bat to ball. Flashed a little bit more juice I think than people were thinking or hope or were imagining. So now you’ve got at least gap to gap and you have a guy that could be a second division regular but definitely can be a strong bench infield piece for you. You mentioned when we were at the Arizona Fall League, we’ve got both Tommy White and Kota Grower out there and you made the point like the Karota Grower and the Tommy White pick in the 2024 draft almost hedge each other. Yeah, like you had the volatility of White, you had the safety of Kota Grower, but what you don’t have in the ceiling of Karota Grower, you get in the ceiling of White. So, like they work in tandem. It’s really impressive. Their scouting director, his name is Eric Kabota. He’s been there since he’s been in that position since 2002. I was reading a little bit on this bio. He got there as a college kid in 1984. He was in the A’s media relations department from 1984 until 1989. Then he pivoted to kind of the scouting front office player development area and he was the supervisor of international scouting from 99 to01. He was the Pacific Rim coordinator in 97 and he’s been their director of scouting since 2002. So he’s been in that position for over 20 years at this point. I mean so we were talking about I didn’t know he went from the media side to Yeah. His BR bullpen bio just says um he started working with Oakland in ‘ 84 when he was a college kid. He was in the media relations department in 1989. He was the assistant scouting director from 90 until 96. So he went from the media relations department to being the assistant scouting director for the athletics. I was making my case to you. I think he’s like the most underrated I think like just just executive. Would you consider that an executive in that role? Like he’s just one of the most underrated baseball minds. say and with a team right now because you look at the drafting history of course recent history is incredible. Um, but you look at it going all the way back to the early 2000s, like what was it? He he nailed it on like Nick Swisser. Uh, I’m thinking like Houston Street. Uh, there was a bunch of others early on. I I was reading a piece uh in a conversation that he had with with Fan Graphs and they were asking about Kyler Murray and he said like he always jokes that uh they’re they’re just bad football scouts because they never thought he would be the number one overall pick. Uh, so I mean I really think he’s probably had other opportunities elsewhere and for whatever reason he’s just thrilled working in uh for the athletics and just continue to do a good job with them. It’s cool, man. Like so this guy his recent picks obviously he was an assistant when they grabbed Mark Moulder and Barry Zto and Bobby Crosby and Bonderman. Um, but he took over his first year was Swisser and he took 16th overall out of Ohio State but then it’s Joe Bllandon in the first round in O2 as well. Martian is there and you go recent history like Shawn Doolittle in ’07 that was a good pick. Sunny Gray in 2011 he wasn’t a pitcher like dude it’s crazy. Sunny Gray at 18th overall in 2011. Addison Russell was 11th overall in 2012. Matt Olsen was 47th in 2012. You had Matt Chapman at 25th in 2014. And then you had Daltton not Daltton Jeff. That’s not a good shot. But like Yeah, Shawn Murphy was not a first round pick, but Yeah, but I’m saying just another pick. Yeah, another pick. But like Soderstrom in 20 out of high school in the first round. Max Mudsy, Wilson, Curts, like he’s he’s crushing this right now. He’s crushing. He’s a dog. I I that’s that’s a guy I would love to somehow get on the show because it’s just just staying in that role there and just being like, I love it. I’m here. It’s cool with me. Is is pretty amazing. Yeah. Um, another new acquisition is Henry Bayas. Um, he came over in that trade as well. If you from with Mason Miller, um, you know, coming over with Dere and all the others, but I think with with Bayas, if you remember when we talked about him on the Padre system, just another very high probability big league arm here. And and I think another guy that you look at the pitch grades across the board. You know, if you’re watching on YouTube with us, it’s 50 grade fast ball, 50 grade slider, a curveball that’s going to be a 55 grade with a little bit better execution, fringy change up, and average command. Five starter. I I really And and he’s he’s still on the younger side, like could get, you know, a little bit more out of him. Maybe maybe the V load can take up a little bit more, but it’s 93 95 and makes it work. So I I think the athletics see a lot of value in these types of guys a little bit more than maybe some other orgs. I think every or obviously wants to have as many you know whether it’s back end any types of arms that they can have that they think they can grab into stay in a rotation but I thought bias was a nice complimentary piece to get when you’re getting Leo to freeze so like who who knows what else you’re going to be able to get on top of that. This is another really just high floor arm that you mentioned just wanting to stockpile these types of guys. Yes. Now we have some higher upside guys in this system with a gauge jump. you know, with with Jamie Arnold in the fold with Morales, but you can’t just bank on all those guys working out. So, stockpiling innings eaters uh and those types of profiles, I think, is great. And and I thought Bayz did just about everything he could to just maintain, I think, his value and his status quo. He was a 45 future value guy when we did the Padre system, and he was a 45 future value guy by the time we update this athletic system after the trade. Sometimes boring is good, baby. I’m in. Especially with pitching. Yeah, especially with pitching. Uh, and also with something else. Before you get to number nine, can I give you something else that is boring but good? Yes. Life insurance. Yes. It’s one of those things that really doesn’t get you out of bed in the morning. 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That’s ethos. ethos.com/justbaseball. Application times may vary and rates may vary and that’s another boring but sexy thing. There we go. I love it. That was that was wonderful. Uh number nine, Stephen Etchavaria. He elevated himself a little bit this year, I would say. Um, and this was a big overslaught first round money, you know, pick here in in 2023. And as it goes with with Prep Arms, it’s it’s going to take some time and and it has taken some time for Etcharia, but I I thought he took a huge step forward this past year. Uh, you saw that fast ball just improve even more. Uh, you saw just the the slider get much more effective for him as well. Uh, and then you just saw the overall command get a little bit better. Uh, that slider, it just it’s been incredibly effective for him with this short just sharp bite that I think generated huge huge swing and miss numbers and and and just a lot of weak contact as well. Uh, he had a 65% strike rate on it, which is a far cry from where he was, you know, the year before. And, you know, I think it’s easy to to forget that was still just 19 years old for the entirety of this season. he you’re up until like the very end of it. Um so still very young, still has a lot of potential, but I think what he really solidified this year and what elevated his prospect stock to me was that I saw a guy that at least is going to be a good reliever now. And you know, you have the fallback of that fast ball and slider making him a strong like setup type of type of arm. Um the fast ball ticked up from 94 on average last year to 95 miles per hour this past year and at points was was popping a little bit higher than that. uh towards the tail end of the season he was averaging even higher like I think as he got more comfortable and he built up more innings I think over his final nine starts he he actually averaged 96 miles per hour at Travaria did on the fast ball and again the slider was as good as ever he’s still trying to find that third pitch and it still was high fast ball usage about 60% so I still think there’s a good chance that that ends up in the bullpen but now I see a guy that instead of oh he might you know end up being a middle reliever or whatever now it’s a this guy has the off to to be a potentially even a closer if you imagine it ticks up even more. So that’s the the leap that made this year where the command got better enough to the point where it’s like okay he could at least throw in leverage and the fast ball slider combination improved enough to where it was okay this guy can throw it leverage but also at 20 years old for the majority of next year still has plenty of runway to try to find that third pitch and and just prove that he can stick in a rotation. Two things. Number one, they must love their guy that’s based in New Jersey because we talk about the Ruters pipeline, but this is a New Jersey high school kid. Like, they must love that area scout. Uh, number two, I don’t know how much this guy was throwing indoors, but I understand what they’re doing in terms of pursuing the Northeast Arm because you would feel like traditionally their pitching life is younger than like a Florida prep pitcher or a Texas prep pitcher because they’re not playing as much outdoor baseball in New Jersey. Now granted, like that could all be a moot point if this kid is just throwing his arm off in like, you know, the training complex in February and January. You have no idea what he was doing, but it it does kind of feel like from a 30,000 ft view, there would be a little bit more meat on the bone there, especially when it comes to kind of the development of this guy. So, understandably so. It took him a little bit and like could be a late bloomer. They could just hunt late bloomers. Yeah. one and I think you you’re validate you’re validated in that assertion with the way that he got stronger as the year progressed and yeah they managed his workload a little bit down the stretch but still I think you saw a guy that just just was growing and growing and growing and getting more comfortable in the larger workload and looked fresh you know the entirety of the season so um doing that with an uptick it’s 100% going to make him you know a more intriguing arm in this system u Mason Barnett I I still at number eight like I think it’s a little bit of a drop obviously, but still a guy that again you go to the floor and it’s just so high. I looked at a lot of the underlying numbers and even like you when you looked at his big league debut I think statistically it wasn’t the best right he had a 685 erra but I I thought man there’s a lot of I think encouraging underlying metrics you look at uh when he was around the zone more like I think the first start was a little bit of a blow up the second one he walked five but he struck out eight and then he settled in a little bit more on the final two it’s it’s going to be a little bit more execution dependent he’s going to have to kind put that all together. What was interesting to me is there was a little bit of a a loss in quality of of stuff like I think the not from a velocity standpoint, but I think he struggled a little bit Barnett did with the AAA ball on top of the PCL. Like he lost a little bit of ride on that heater and I think that affected him a little bit with the confidence in the zone. He lost a little bit of a feel for that splitter which was a solid third pitch for him and I think that caused him to nibble a little bit more. But when we saw him at his best in double A, it was a plus slider. It was a at least average splitter and a fast forcing fast ball that looked like it was above average at points, you know, sitting at 94 miles per hour. So I think if he can find a little bit more comfort with that big league ball, I think we could see that stuff improve a little bit more, but still Barnett looks like he could be that back end of the rotation and inseer once again. Gotcha. Number seven, holding pattern with Henry Bolty. I don’t think I say holding pattern from a ranking perspective, but he definitely elevated himself as a prospect and I think we talked about him a little bit. Um I’m trying to remember when and what the context was, but I remember on the show talking about how he kind of improved a little bit of everything that you wanted to see, right? like you saw and look, there’s still more that needs to be done. But when you have a guy that is toled up and you’re just hoping that he can hit enough to make it all work when he makes a leap in the approach department and uh just the swing and miss department, continues to look better defensively, it’s a lot easier to gravitate towards that. He struck out 34% of the time last year as he also battled injury. Uh and and I think when you look at what Bolt has done now or did this past year, he’s he took a 61% contact rate and and brought that up uh you know five or 6%. The inzone improved a lot too. The overall approach improved and he cut that strikeout rate down to 28%. He was 21 years old for a good portion of the year and played in double A and then finished, you know, I think the final month or so in AAA and was really, I think, improved from a bat to ball perspective. Yes, you want to see him hit the ball in the air a lot more. Um, it was a nearly 60% ground ball rate. But when we’re talking about a guy with great wheels, good defensive tools, hits the living crap out of the ball, and takes a step forward in the swing and miss department, it’s still a wide range of outcomes here with Bolty. But it is definitely a step in the right direction, especially in the endzone contact rate area where he’s 76% in zone contact after being like 69% last year. Yeah. Um batting average was up what 20 points or so. He hit 267 between high A and double in 24. He’s at 284 this year. OBP went up from 368 to 385. Another interesting one, this guy has been a prolific base dealer and I think we were talking about kind of like the we were talk when he came up previously this year, we were talking about I think hot starts, but also just like the tools that were amazing. We were kind of checking in on the minor league stat leaders and Bolti was near the top of stolen bases early in the year. This guy in 2024 46 for 58 in the stolen base department. So he stole 48 bags but or 46 bags but he was caught 12 times. This year he was 44 for 46 in the stolen base department. He was only caught twice this year. So you mentioned all these pieces in his offensive game that he’s growing. One of which is the efficiency without losing volume of the stolen base which is really cool. And and this isn’t high or low. when he got to Triple A in 34 games, he was 13 for 13. So, he has clearly figured out how to become a prolific base steeler. You add that with the ability to just at least I think be a guy that can fill a role in either corner with the defense power. I know he didn’t I was hoping he’d be kind of like a lefty masher. That’s not necessarily the case, but you know, that usually changes when you see big league stuff and you know, you could at least be a short platoon power type of guy. I took that Tyler O’Neal starter kit and you know if it all works out could be a really fun player and he’s still on the younger side but I love seeing him pretty much improve in every facet of his game this past year especially on the base stealing perspective. I think that’s a great shout. Yep. Six is another newcomer Braden Net. Uh I we talked about him in that uh Padre system as well of course because he came over in the trade and that was what was surprising. I I expected of course once you saw Dere coming over like Henry Bayaz and some of the Bayas and some of the relievers to come over but seeing them get Net as well was really fascinating because we we’ve talked about a lot of high floor arms um that are high probability backend guys. Net is not that where he’s got a high ceiling I think could be a really fun arm that stuff-wise it could be middle rotation if it all came together but the command has limited him. It’s it’s an assortment of pitches, man. I mean, you’ve got four seamer, cutter, slider, change up, sinker, sweeper, slider. Like, it’s it’s everything. And when he’s on, I mean, I I don’t know how you hit them. Fast ball averages 96 with good life to it. Um, and and all of those pitches look like they can be average or better. It’s a little bit harder to to assess them because he’s so inconsistent with the shapes and location. Yes, he walked only 11%, but I think a lot of the execution from Net, it was it was very spray heavy where hitters were just, you know, kind of expand a lot. He could get back into the counts with the fast ball or the cutter. Uh, but if it all comes together, Braden Net’s a really unique arm that would have an above average plus heater, above average slider, and then I mean the cutter, curve ball, and change all look average or above. So if he can just throw some more strikes, execute and kind of find how to sequence and what pitches work best for him, I mean net is was was a great get on, you know, to go with Dere and and I think could be a really fun arm for them. If and if it doesn’t work out, another player that you put him in the bullpen, you know, narrows that that pitch mix a little bit and the stuff ticks up could be could be disgusting in leverage. It seems like the final part of the minor league maturation process, which is the case with a lot of like kitchen sinky guys in the minor leagues, is finding to your point the other pitch aside from the fast ball that you can land almost at will and you can get back into account with. The more I watch this game, and the haters tell me that I’m just learning how to watch this game. Uh the more like you watch these pitchability guys throw, the more you realize that they’re pretty easy to game plan for if you get ahead 20 or 2-1 because they have to get back in with a fast ball. And the guys that can get back in with a fast ball and something else are exponentially better because there’s just that little thing in the back of your mind that it’s like, okay, they could give me a cutter right now. They could give me a slider. They could drop hit a curveball. It could be a change up right now versus, okay, I’m up 20. time to sit dead red because I know he’s got to try and get back to even. Yep. Yeah. And and I think if and with the caliber of net stuff, he could just challenge you with the heater and maybe beat you with it because it averaged 96. But if he has those other pitchers that he can go to, I mean, you’re just going to get those auto takes. Like if he’s dropping in a curveball 20 auto take, that thing’s nasty in the upper 70s or throwing that hard cutter, you’re probably going to think it’s a fast ball and, you know, roll over on it or swing through it at 90 miles per hour. So what I like about Ned is you have the force at 96, the cutter at 90, the curveball at 78, the change up at 87, the sinker at about 95 and 955, the sweeper at 82. He’s got like seven different speeds. Um, and I think that really makes him a difficult pitcher to game plan for as well, uh, when he’s executing. Love number five is Jack Perkins. just gonna take a very quick victory lap here because that was somebody I think was not getting much love even in like the He still isn’t getting enough love by the way. I think if you look at some rankings I still don’t think they have him in the top five. This guy’s disgusting. It’s all about health and you know strikes but he threw enough strikes I think this year. Perkins was kind of used in different roles and sometimes a little bit out of the bullpen sometimes is in a starter role. He was clearly way too good for Triple A once he came back healthy and then got up to the big leagues and I think we we saw some flashes of some really really nasty stuff. You know, 419 RA for the Athletics, you know, in in 12 appearances, 38 and two/3s innings. Um, and you know, that was that was a place and will be a place that continuously is really hard to throw in. Uh, as we saw a lot of ridiculous homero splits. So, you know, you take a 419 RA, you know, from your pitching staff and a guy that was making fair amount of starts for you as well. I think he made like four or five starts to finish the season. Um, but Perkins was somebody that we talked about in the last system update as just improved his his his fastball quality and command significantly by changing his his arm angle a little bit, a little bit more horizontal, and it just seemed to roll off the fingers more naturally, but he was still getting ride from there. The sweeper was outrageous off of it. And then he had this bridge cutter at, you know, 93, 94 miles per hour. So that fast ball, sweeper, cutter combination is just outrageous. He’ll sprinkle in a change up that flashes is just the the command of it is not great. Um, but it’s a plus fast ball. It’s a borderline plus plus sweeper and a good cutter that I think can make him a really useful arm. Whether it’s, you know, as a strong four starter or, you know, as as a Swiss Army knife type of arm in that, you know, equation there. All of a sudden, man, the Athletics have a lot of arms that can, you know, just kind of take a chance to help them next year. And it’s like, okay, didn’t work for you, next man up. Didn’t work, next man up. They have a bunch of different players that they can recycle in there. But I think Perkins is a guy that’s going to hold on to a spot, you know, the entirety of the season. Yeah. Uh, with where the system is, they should probably trade for another established starting pitcher. They could also explore the free agent market. Although I feel like Luis Sberino is kind of disincentivized at like the Athletics trying to find a free agent pitcher at this point, especially given the price point. But like Perkins does seem like that guy. Well, at least we have Jack Perkins to turn to. That is the final step for the Athletics because that offense is legit fun and good at this point. They have to figure out the other side of the baseball. One more question as it relates to Jack Perkins. Who do you think he’s rooting for on Saturdays in the fall? because he spent two years at Louisville. He spent his draft year at Indiana. Do you think he’s just fully on the Indiana hype train at this point? That’s a great question because like he started college at Louisville, but I I feel like so he’s from Cooko, Indiana, which is hard. I think he’s rooting for Indiana. I would think he’s rooting for the Hooers at this point. So he’s all about Signetti. Yeah, especially Yeah. Especially since you got Signetti now. I think he’s all about the Hooers. I would say but Louisville’s top 20 I think which is crazy. Maybe that my my Hurricanes that loss may not be as bad as it looks. No. Um but yeah, I mean 585 OPS against this year for Perkins between Triple A and the big leagues, 178 opponent batting average. It’s tough angles. It’s weird and it’s just hard and harder stuff-wise. So that’s going to be a good arm for them one way or another. Jamie Arnold, they added him to the fold. think you’re thrilled if you’re the athletics that he fell into your lap at 11. Kind of a no-brainer pick uh for them. They add just another high upside lefty who, you know, if it all comes together, it’s a plus fast ball plus slider and then you hope that that cutter splitter can come along a little bit more. And you know, same to same to go with the command. Like I think you’re hoping that comes along a little bit more as well. But I mean, it’s just another player here where the fallback is disgustingly outrageously like weird lefty reliever that will work. Um, but of course, you’re hoping for a guy that can play, you know, towards the front of a rotation. Um, and and I think it’s just a matter of kind of finding just a cutter or a change up that can kind of bridge, you know, that that mix a little bit. Yeah. I I feel like that Arnold pick really like just solidified the strength of this system though because you pair that with a gauge jump who is one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in baseball now with an elite heater uh you know a plus sweeper an above average curveball and a strikethrower despite you know it kind of being a high effort delivery and now it’s like okay we have Jump who did it we have Arnold who can do it and I I think the the pair of those two is really exciting because then you also have Morales who did it in the show. So I I just this trio of arms like given what they just graduated. You graduate two elite prospect bats in Jacob Wilson and Nick Curts and it’s like okay well what about the arms? What about the arms? What about the arms? And now two, three, four in this farm system are you know two and three are top 100 prospects. four is borderline and I think the second he has a decent start to his pro career will be top 100 for us but it’s top 100 for a lot of other people out there but two three four five are all strong pitching prospects and then oh by the way you acquired one of the best position player prospects in the whole sport and a teenager so just where they’re at right now is amazing but Jump is another elite scouting success here comp B 73rd overall and was one of the best pitchers in minor league baseball. And the fastball characteristics were outrageous with deception built in. I I feel really good about him being a, you know, a big league arm and a solid one. And I think with the command being where it’s at, he’s a great chance at at least being a four and looks like he’s going to be a middle rotation arm for them. So you you you follow that up with Morales who I think proved that he’s going to be a big league starter for them because he took the step command wise and that’s a guy that we’ve been putting on top 100 list it feels like forever now. um and feel validated in that in that selection as well or like that that ranking as well. Morales, it was always okay, he’s got three potentially four above average pitches and potentially four plus pitches. Like it just comes down to the command and I think we saw from Morales it was the command was good enough. That was a generational stream of consciousness stack from four to two there. I just want to give you your flowers on that. Um it just it really feels like to your point they’re just filling out everything that has to do uh with their deficiencies. And to be honest, like they could have been one of the teams that could have just run through a 20 round draft and done the Angels thing where they just take nothing but pitching because their hitting is fine at this point. Their hitting is extended in Rooker. It is controllable in Curts, in Wilson, in Butler and all of this like and it’s fun. It’s really good at this point. They’re not hitting this, oh, we have to win before this guy hits the open market type feeling. They control everybody. They can absolutely like control their own destiny over the next four, five, six years in terms of the lineup. So now it’s just a matter of figuring out the 13 arms that you feel comfortable working with. And they probably have three at the major league level. Find four more in 26. find three more in 27 and then all of a sudden you’re ready to really compete by the time you get to Vegas. I I agree and I think Morales is the guy that you can look at specifically and say like he could, you know, headline this rotation if it all comes together with the sheer velocity. I think what he showed again in that big league debut like that’s just a really exciting arm to be adding to the fold there. And you look at what he was able to do stuff-wise. I mean, no one touched his sweeper. 098 batting average big leaguers had against that sweeper. The change up looked good and the four seamer was effective. I mean again I think this is a big league breakout candidate. You know for those that are those on the show they’re not a breakout guy but when we’re talking about the just baseball show like breakout guys. Yes. I think Morales is is an excellent example because how often do you see pitch grades like this man? I mean not too often are you seeing a 60 on the heater or 55 on the slider 55 on the curveball 60 on the change up. But here he is and and that’s what that’s what he’s got when he’s consistent. Um it was all about kind of syncing up that long arm angle. Yeah. And then all the Oh, by the way, you know, we don’t need a ton of position player talent, but if you can go get a switchhitting teenager who, you know, is already in double A and succeeding, uh why not? And I understand that they had to part with Mason Miller to get there, but in the grand scheme, I think this this is going to be a move that that pays off for them. Leo Dere to headline this system. You add him in there with all the different leaps that we talked about and the drafting or whatever. This is a to me it’s a tier one system. No, I mean we’d have to really map it all out, but it’s with the depth that they have like I’m looking at a weigh- in len and Lynn and I right now I already feel like I ranked him too low. And if that’s happening at 11 and 12, that means the system’s obviously depthy like to also have the blue chip headliner and as I mentioned the the trio of arms. I I I feel really good about where this system is at and I think with Dere and his, you know, just tools across the board and star potential at the top here already at doublea, this is a farm system that uh is going to, I think, be one of the best when we do the farm system rankings. It’s going to, you know, not going to be in the top three, but it’s going to be up there. I think so. I mean, it’s I think it’s in the same breath as the Tampa, maybe not Milwaukee at this point, but I think it’s in the same breath as like Tampa, Seattle, those kind of things because you have that blend of, you know, talent at the top and depth. There are plenty of organizations that have one of those. Like, oh, their 15th ranked prospect is really good or, oh, their fourth ranked prospect is amazing. But very few systems in baseball have both and the A’s are one of the very few that has both. Yep. 100%. And just to to hammer this home, final 50 games of Leo Dere, by the way, he turned 19 years old three weeks ago. Final 50 games of the season, he had 283, 364, 547. It’s a 911 OPS. And by the way, like he’s barely tapping into his power potential in that span. He had an EV90 of 100.5 miles per hour. But he’s slugging like that because the contact rates were above average, the approach was strong, and the angles were elite. The air pull is amazing. 29% ground ball rate in that span. Imagine when he grows into a little bit more strength. He’s he’s a child. So like I think from that perspective, he he could be an absolute monster. So heading into uh next year, I think he could be a guy that if it all comes together next year as well and he continues his progression because you see the way that he finished the year at DA uh could force his hand, you know, force the athletics hand and you know, insert himself into the equation there and maybe plays third base and all of a sudden he got a really fun infield situation and just overall team situation there. um in sack town. Yes. Any final thoughts on this system? I don’t think so. I’ll echo what you said. Tier one system it seems or maybe top at tier two. We’re going to continue to rattle through these system updates uh throughout the off season and uh just stay tuned for that. Also, a bunch of fun prospect interviews coming up. So, stay tuned for those as well. Look forward to talking prospects with you again this week. Thank you as always for listening. We’ll talk soon.

Aram and Jack dive into the Oakland Athletics’ top prospects heading into 2026, breaking down which players are trending up, who could impact the big-league roster soon, and how the system stacks up after another year of development. From Luis Morales and Henry Bolte to emerging names like Gavin Turley and Wei-En Lin, the guys cover all the biggest updates across the A’s farm system.

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Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00
Previous Top 15: 2:47
Names to Watch: 5:10
Gavin Turley: 9:10
Gunnar Hoglund: 10:08
Devin Taylor: 10:55
Kade Morris: 12:05
Wei-En Lin: 12:34
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer: 16:50
Henry Baez: 21:50
Ethos: 23:34
Steven Echavarria: 24:48
Mason Barnett: 28:45
Henry Bolte: 30:14
Braden Nett: 33:40
Jack Perkins: 37:21
Jamie Arnold: 40:46
Gage Jump: 41:47
Luis Morales: 43:31
Leo De Vries: 45:58

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