This system continues to lag behind even teams with comparable resources, a combination of some draft misses, a long stretch without prospects from the international market, and a few trades while the team was back in contention. Also, Kyler Murray. It’s all his fault.
To qualify for these rankings, players must still be eligible for the Rookie of the Year Award in 2022, which means they may not have more than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on an active roster heading into this season.
Note: Ages as of July 1, 2022.
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1. Tyler Soderstrom, C (Top 100 ranking: No. 35)
Age: 20 | 6-2 | 200 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 26 in 2020
Soderstrom was the 26th pick in 2020, so his pro debut came this year when he went to Low A to start the minor-league season. He played just 57 games for Stockton, but hit .306/.390/.568 with 12 homers and just a 24 percent strikeout rate. He would have ranked second in the league in slugging and fifth in OBP if he’d played in enough games, even though he was among the 10 youngest hitters in the California League’s remnants. Everyone seems to agree that Soderstrom is going to hit. He has a powerful swing and a very balanced approach, with just a small toe-tap and step that still generates a ton of force, although he can spin off his front foot on occasion, leaving him too open and vulnerable to stuff spinning away from him. His defense behind the plate is well behind his bat, enough so that it’s probably a better move for the A’s to just move him to third base now and let him hit his way to the majors, as the Royals and Nationals did with Wil Myers and Bryce Harper as prospects. Soderstrom’s season ended on July 23th after he took a pitch to the collarbone and then developed a back problem while rehabbing, which also robbed him of some reps behind the plate and also doesn’t bode well for his ability to stay at the position anyway. His bat is going to be major-league ready by the end of 2023, but his glove won’t, and since his potential for a .300/.360/.500 line will profile just fine at third base, the A’s should make this decision sooner rather than later.
2. Zack Gelof, 3B (Just-missed list)
Age: 22 | 6-3 | 205 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 60 in 2021
Gelof was a revelation in pro ball, and all he had to do was get away from the rigid hitting approach imposed on all hitters at the University of Virginia, where you must hit at all times like you have two strikes and terrorists will kill your family if you don’t put the ball in play. He had power in high school, and it came back out in pro ball, where he hit 7 homers in 36 pro games after hitting 9 in 63 games in the spring — with a metal bat, against college pitching. He ended up hitting .333/.422/.565 after signing, mostly in Low A, with three games in Triple A at the very end of the season where he went 7 for 12. He hurt his arm early in the spring working with a weighted ball, which impacted his throwing for most of the college season, but he’s healthy now and throwing fine, with the quick first step required to play well at third base. I might have had the confidence to put him on the top 100 if his sample size in pro ball had been larger.
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3. Max Muncy, SS
Age: 19 | 6-1 | 180 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 25 in 2021
It appears that we had not actually reached max Muncy until this Max Muncy — who isn’t related to the other Max Muncy even though they share a birthday — appeared, and now that we have two Max Muncys I’m prepared to say that yes, we have in fact achieved max Muncy; we are maxed out, and there is no room for further Muncy in baseball. This Muncy is a plus defender at short with quick-twitch actions and more pop than you’d expect from his frame, but he’s a below-average hitter for his age/experience level. He has good bat speed, so it’s more about improving his approach at the plate, which was exploited even by complex-league pitching, and adding strength so more of his routine contact is hard enough to fall in for hits.
4. Nick Allen, SS
Age: 23 | 5-8 | 166 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 81 in 2017
Allen just keeps on hitting despite doubts that someone his size (he’s listed at 5-8, 166) would hit enough to be an everyday player. He can play shortstop, and he’s an above-average runner, so while he’s probably not going to have more than 40 power, he has at least a chance to be a regular because of his defense and positional value. That said, a player with his profile needs to get on base more often than Allen does, to say nothing of the inherent advantage of a guy with a small strike zone in drawing more walks; he drew 29 walks last year in 89 games and has never drawn more than 33 unintentional walks in any one season. Right now he projects as a great utility player, but more patience would make him a possible regular.
5. Colin Peluse, RHP
Age: 24 | 6-3 | 230 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 284 in 2019
Peluse saw a big jump in his velocity during the pandemic by working on core and leg strength, hitting 97-98 in 2020 Instructs and then settling in at more 94-96 during the season, down to 92-96 towards the end of the season. He’s got an above-average slider with power to the pitch and a good enough changeup that he actually was better against left-handed batters than right. His no-windup delivery looks relieverish, but it works — he repeats it, it’s clean, he’s online, and I think he makes more than enough use of his lower half to hold up in that role. He projects as a mid-rotation starter.
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6. Lawrence Butler, OF/1B
Age: 21 | 6-3 | 210 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 173 in 2018
Oakland’s sixth-round pick in 2018, Butler made his full-season debut in 2021 and hit .273/.367/.504 between both A-ball levels, with 19 homers, 29 steals in 34 attempts … and a 32 percent strikeout rate. He’s a long-levered guy, looking taller than his listed 6-3, and has taken longer than most guys to start to get his arms and legs synced up. It’s plus power and 55 speed, enough that he really has to be able to play left, where he’s still not average. He’s made so much progress already that a strong regular ceiling, maybe even an above-average one, is realistic now.
7. Denzel Clarke, OF
Age: 22 | 6-5 | 220 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 127 in 2021
Clarke was one of the best athletes in the college position-player crop in last year’s draft, but ended up in the fourth round in part due to a limited track record of performance; his .324/.445/.570 line as a junior at Cal State-Northridge was a big jump from his freshman year in 2019. He grew up in Canada and didn’t play a ton as a kid, so he’s less experienced than the typical college product. He’s 6-5, 220, and built like a linebacker; he’s a plus runner with a plus arm, better suited to right field than center given his size, with some swing and miss due to that lack of repetitions against better pitching. He has more power than he’s shown so far, but is still learning when to use his ‘A’ swing and try to crush something versus just trying to put it in play. He could be a 20/20 guy with plus defense in right field and an OBP just south of league average, with wide variance around his outcomes.
8. Pedro Pineda, OF
Age: 18 | 6-1 | 170 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Pineda is a long-term projection bat who has already shown good instincts in the outfield and strong pitch recognition for a 17-year-old. He’s an above-average runner and throws well enough for centerfield or right, with a good chance to stay up the middle. He’s just physically immature, lacking the strength of most players even in the ACL, where he was among the youngest position players, and also lacking some of the coordination that comes with growing into your body. He was one of just three 17-year-olds to get even 50 PA in the ACL last year, and had the least developed body of the three, so for him to hold his own, posting a .258/.403/.403 line, is even more impressive. Check back in a year when he’s had a chance to fill out some.
9. Brayan Buelvas, OF
Age: 20 | 5-11 | 155 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
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Buelvas is in that large group of players who could have used short-season ball last year; the Colombian 19-year-old jumped from the Rookie ball to Low A, where the game sped up on him a little and he struggled to catch up to better pitching. He’s under six feet but has some length to the swing you wouldn’t expect, yielding more swing and miss but also more power. His best tool now is his glove, as he’s a clear centerfielder with speed and solid instincts there, so there’s less pressure on his bat. Even if he’s a low-OBP, 20-25 homer guy, he’d be a regular, but he may be a level-a-year guy who needs to spend all of 2022 in High A.
10. Daulton Jefferies, RHP
Age: 26 | 6-0 | 185 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 37 in 2016
Jefferies continues to throw a ton of strikes and get hurt, a lot, ending the year with elbow trouble yet again. On the plus side, the 92 innings he threw in 2021 marked a career best, and he showed a full four-pitch mix with a plus changeup and an above-average cutter, although his velocity was down slightly in the majors, which might be tied to the elbow issue. It’s starter command and a starter arsenal and if he ever can stay healthy for 20-25 starts, he could be a league-average starter, if not more. The odds of that happening just keep going down.
11. Grant Holman, RHP
Age: 22 | 6-5 | 250 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 188 in 2021
Holman missed about half of the spring at Cal with bicep tendinitis, which is why he slid from a top-three round selection to the sixth round, where Oakland took him. He was 92-94 in the spring with a splitter that can show plus and enough of a slider to look at him as a future starter if he doesn’t encounter any further arm trouble.
12. Jeff Criswell, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-4 | 225 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 58 in 2020
Criswell missed almost the entire year with arm soreness, making one start in May and then hitting the shelf until August. He did pitch in the AFL and punched out 32 guys in 22 innings, although his command wasn’t great and he gave up too much hard contact. He’s had some hip tightness as well that causes him to spin out on his front side, something that the A’s might be able to minimize, but his delivery as a whole is violent and he’s going to have a hard time repeating it and staying healthy. There are several weapons here for him to have success in a high-leverage or multi-inning relief role.
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13. Luis Barrera, OF
Age: 26 | 6-0 | 195 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
I thought Barrera would have a better year in Triple A, thanks to the major-league ball and various hitters’ parks in that’s still the Pacific Coast League I can’t hear you la la la la la, but he hit just .276/.348/.393 with his worst power output since he was 19. He can still hit, at least for contact, and could end up part of a corner outfield platoon with a right-handed hitter.
14. Mason Miller, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-5 | 200 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 97 in 2021
Miller was a graduate student at Gardner-Webb, having played four years at Division 3 Waynesburg University, when Oakland took him in the third round last year. Miller was touching 97 and sitting 94-95 from his 6-5 frame, and the A’s had him close to 100 mph after he signed. He needs to tighten up his slider and could move quickly in a relief role. If not, at least he got his MBA.
15. Jordan Diaz, 3B/1B/OF
Age: 21 | 5-10 | 175 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Diaz has a very steady, balanced swing, despite a high leg kick, that has produced high contact rates up through High A, where he hit .288/.337/.484 with a 16 percent strikeout rate. He’s going up there to swing, but his approach is quiet and simple enough that he’s been able to make contact even with some stuff that’s out of the zone, with the potential for average power. His position is an open question, as he’s not good at third base but his bat may not profile at first or in left.
16. Brent Honeywell, Jr., RHP
Age: 27 | 6-2 | 195 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 72 in 2014
Honeywell missed all of 2018 and 2019 after Tommy John surgery and a fractured elbow, undergoing four surgeries in total between the end of 2017 and the start of last year, but he finally got the call from the Rays in April and made three appearances last year. His best pitch is his changeup but he had trouble with it in his brief major-league time, where he used just three pitches — the change, a fastball, and a cutter — even though he has also thrown a curve, slider, and even a screwball in the past. If the arm woes are behind him, and I certainly hope they are, he has so many weapons he could be tremendous out of the bullpen, especially on a team that can be flexible with how he’s used.
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17. A.J. Puk, LHP
Age: 27 | 6-7 | 250 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 6 in 2016
Puk is still rookie-eligible by a couple of days, since most of the year-plus of his MLB service time has come on the injured list. He’s had elbow and shoulder surgery and missed a month last year with a bicep strain, then wasn’t as effective in his return, with reduced velocity and effectiveness even though he was pitching one inning at a time, always with rest. I don’t know what he is at this point; it’s hard to imagine him being healthy enough to start, but can his arm handle working on consecutive days in short relief?
18. Jorge Juan, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-8 | 200 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Juan is 6-8 and throws 97 with a plus curveball, but he had a flexor strain last year and underwent a PRP injection to try to stave off Tommy John surgery. He’d made progress before the injury, going from a walk an inning in 2019 in the Arizona Rookie League to 7 walks in 21 innings in Low A, then he went back to walking a man an inning in two starts in High A before the elbow barked.
19. Jack Weisenburger, RHP
Age: 24 | 6-3 | 220 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 614 in 2019
Weisenburger has a great arm, up to 97 with a wipeout slider, but has a history of wildness; he ripped through High A last year but walked 32 men in 37 1/3 innings in Double A, along with 48 strikeouts. He doesn’t have a third pitch for lefties to make him a potential closer/setup guy but if he throws strikes he’ll dominate right-handed batters enough for a middle relief role.
20. Logan Davidson, SS/3B
Age: 24 | 6-3 | 195 pounds
Bats: Switch | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 29 in 2019
Davidson’s just about out of time, as the 2019 first-rounder did absolutely nothing in Double A last year — the power and patience he’d shown in college are almost gone, and he might be a platoon third baseman now if he just hits from the left side. As a right-handed batter last year, he hit .119/.191/.149, and I know it’s a small sample, but a .339 OPS is just not going to fly. The A’s have tried to make some mechanical adjustments to simplify his approach and get his timing back, with slight improvements in the AFL, but if he can’t hit in 2022 I don’t see a future role.
Others of note
The A’s gave shortstop Robert Puason for $5.1 million in 2019, but he’s just not very good — every scout who saw him this year told me they don’t think he’s more than an org player, as he’s not a shortstop, can’t hit, and doesn’t show much semblance of an approach. He’s 19, so I don’t want to say he’s done, but the early returns are as bad as they could be. … Max Schuemann is a slap-and-go hitter who played mostly second and short last year across three levels, with experience at third and in both outfield corners. He’s a plus runner, stealing 52 bags in 57 attempts in 2021, who puts the ball in play enough for his speed to be a factor. He’s Rule 5 eligible and could be someone’s 26th man. … Right-hander Jack Cushing carved up both levels of A-ball before a late-August promotion to Double A, where he gave up 35 hits in 25 innings as his K-rate dropped. He’s 91-93 but locates the heck out of it, pounding the zone down and away, thanks to a delivery he repeats very well. He has a three-pitch mix but the lack of anything more than average may stall him out in the high minors. … Right-hander Bryce Conley had worked as a starter in 2019 and to start last year, but his velocity didn’t hold up, and the A’s returned him to relief in the middle of last year. He’s been 96-97 as a reliever before and if the velocity returns he could be a quick mover. … Left-hander Aaron Brown was the Phillies’ third-round pick in 2014 out of Pepperdine, and he’ll turn 30 this June, but bear with me. The Phillies took him as an outfielder to try to take advantage of his power, but he couldn’t hit — he struck out 52 times against nine walks as a college senior with just a .314 average, so (Michael Bluth voice) I don’t know what they were expecting. They put him on the mound in 2017 but released him during the pandemic. He pitched for then-independent St. Paul in 2020, signed with Oakland, and he was 95-96 last year, carrying it over to winter ball before his arm came up a little sore and he was shut down. He’s strictly a reliever, and has maybe 45 control, but he definitely makes my Top Prospects to Root For ranking.
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2022 impact
Puk, Jefferies, and Honeywell should all see time on the big-league roster this year if their health allows.
The fallen
Austin Beck was supposed to have huge power and plus speed when the A’s took him sixth overall in 2017, but he hasn’t shown much of either in pro ball and flopped to a .198/.251/.269 line last year while repeating High A.
Sleeper
Pineda’s lack of physicality is the main thing holding him back from being at least, say, a top 200 prospect. If and when he fills out, he’ll move up the board.
(Photo of Tyler Soderstrom: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)
