I think the A's came away with a really nice draft class here, especially towards the top. Starting with getting arguably the top pitcher in the draft for slot value at pick #11, moving on to some big bats with their next couple of picks, and through a half million dollar starting pitcher that could be pitching in Sacramento next year, I think this is a really strong class especially given the lack of a third round pick after signing Luis Severino. Overall, the A's did not play bonus pool games, never going more than $100K below slot on any pick and really only having second rounder Devin Taylor ($470K above slot) and twelfth rounder Alex Barr ($200K against pool) in the other direction. Out of coincidence, the A's happened to draft the #287, #387, and #487 players on the Baseball America 500.
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Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.
1-11: LHP Jamie Arnold, Florida State
Slot value: $5.99 million. Signing bonus: $5.99 million.
My rank: #6. MLB Pipeline: #4. Baseball America: #6.
Despite not picking inside the top ten, the A's still picked up one of the top pitching prospects in the class for slot value. In fact, there were times this spring where Jamie Arnold looked like the favorite to go first overall and virtually every draft board still had him safely inside the top ten prospects once the draft rolled around. After an uneven freshman season in 2023, Arnold put himself on the map with an All-American sophomore season in 2024 to vault himself to the top of the class alongside UCSB's Tyler Bremner (now an Angel). He came out of the gate hot, allowing just three baserunners in eleven innings over his first two starts and ultimately allowing more than two runs in just one of his first eleven starts. By season's end, Arnold was part of a quartet of starting pitchers alongside LSU's Kade Anderson (#3, Mariners), Tennessee's Liam Doyle (#5, Cardinals), and Oklahoma's Kyson Witherspoon (#15, Red Sox) considered to be at the top of the class. Many a low slot lefty has been compared to Chris Sale, and Arnold certainly found himself in that category as well. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and grabs 97 at peak, not overwhelming velocity for the top of the draft, but it plays up with flat plane and running action from his low slot. He rips off a plus slider that dives across the plate with a foot of sweep. When he has his best stuff, which is honestly most of the time, hitters look absolutely helpless and he can rack up a dozen or more strikeouts on any given night. Arnold is slowly finding his changeup and has gotten better about killing spin and lift while keeping the ball down, giving him the potential for an average or above average cambio down the line. For now, he doesn't command it as well and can bounce it at times, so it plays more like a fringe average pitch. The Tampa native creates a really tough look for hitters coming from a sidearm slot and a release height just four and a half feet off the ground, two full feet lower than some extreme over the top pitchers. Most pitchers with that profile – sidearm lefties up to 97 with a wipeout slider – understandably can get scattered with their command. That is not the case with Arnold, who has never walked more than 27 batters in a season and walked just 5.8% in 2024 before bumping up just slightly to 7.7% in 2025. That pair between bat-missing and strike-throwing ability is hard to find, especially from the left side, and the A's have themselves a potential top of the rotation horse. If there is one drawback in the profile, it could be some slight reliever risk. The 6'1" lefty isn't quite as imposing as some other aces, and right now without a third reliable pitch, he'll really need to hold his command in order to get through the lineup a third time against big league hitters. If the changeup comes along and he maintains his durability (he did throw 190.1 innings, with a sub-3.00 ERA, over his last two seasons in Tallahassee), this is a high-probability impact starting pitcher. If he is forced to the bullpen, the idea of a high octane sidearm lefty with command could be terrifying in short stints.
2-48: OF Devin Taylor, Indiana
Slot value: $2.03 million. Signing bonus: $2.5 million ($468,500 above slot value).
My rank: #38. MLB Pipeline: #30. Baseball America: #34.
Even with a half million over slot bonus closer to the slot value of the #39 pick, this is another great value for the A's. Devin Taylor has been a star since the day he stepped foot on Indiana's campus, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors back in 2023 and improving his performance each season. He starred in the elite Cape Cod League before his junior year, slashing .296/.397/.510 with five home runs in 29 games to establish himself as arguably a top ten prospect in the 2025 draft, right there with Jamie Arnold. I think most outlets had him a bit over-ranked prior to the season and despite putting up his best year yet in 2025, his stock corrected a bit and he found himself here with a signing bonus just outside the first round range. In the end, he finished three years in Bloomington with 54 home runs and a .350/.459/.672 slash line across 169 games. Taylor brings a really nice offensive profile as a power-over-hit type with a long track record of performance. Built like a rock at 6'1", 215 pounds, he channels his impressive strength into a compact left handed swing and excellent feel for the barrel to create a ton of impact. Taylor controls the strike zone pretty well, rarely expanding and bumping up his walk rate from 13.0% in 2024, already a strong number, to 19.3% in 2025. His pure bat to ball is a bit behind, and while he slashed his strikeout rate from 13.3% to 11.2%, concerns still remain especially against quality breaking stuff. He struck out a quarter of the time on the Cape last summer and his best performance in 2025 came against smaller schools, while he hit just .205/.326/.436 against teams that went to the NCAA Tournament. I've long been a bit worried about how his bat would play against pro pitching, though his strong Cape summer does assuage that a bit. The Cincinnati native profiles for 20-25 home runs per season with lower batting averages and healthy walk rates to boost his on-base percentages at the big league level. With Taylor, the bat is the primary selling point because he is a below average defender. He's a fringy runner with below average instincts in the outfield, limiting him to left field in the long run most likely. If he slows down more, he could be come a DH, but the A's likely believe that he can avoid that fate for the first half of his career. Either way, the bat is loud enough that it may not matter.
4-110: OF Gavin Turley, Oregon State
Slot value: $694,600. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($94,600 below slot value).
My rank: #82. MLB Pipeline: #78. Baseball America: #66.
Another pick, another great value. While the A's did not have a third round pick this year due to the signing of Luis Severino, they got a third round talent in Gavin Turley and still stayed under slot value. Turley was a famous high school bat that could have gone in the top couple of rounds in 2022, but he made it to campus at Oregon State and proceeded to embark on an excellent three year career in which he hit .314/.442/.630 with 53 home runs in 170 games. Ironically, those are remarkably similar numbers to Devin Taylor when adjusting for the slightly tougher competition that Turley saw in the Pac-12 and as an independent in 2025. Also like Taylor, 2025 was Turley's best season yet. While Turley has just as much if not more upside than Taylor, he's also a bit more boom or bust. Taylor's power comes from brute strength channeled effectively into a compact left handed swing, while Turley is twenty pounds lighter and generates his with a whippy, explosive right handed swing owing to better athleticism. The end result is better top-end exit velocities, but equal home run output as Taylor squares it up a bit more consistently. Turley is also more of a free swinger whose strikeout rates have remained steadily higher than you'd like and whose contact rates are a bit concerning. He generates so much impact when he connects and torched opponents' pitching to such a degree in 2025 that pitchers often stayed out of the zone, allowing him to run higher walk rates despite the fringy bat to ball and average chase rates. Turley is certainly not the same caliber of prospect, but you could call him somewhat of a discount Dylan Crews with a similar profile if scaled back in a few places (most notably the hit tool). Regardless, Turley is an explosive athlete with a ferocious right handed swing that connected more often than ever in 2025 even if his contact rates remained static and he was caught guessing relatively frequently. He's a better defender than Taylor with above average speed and plus arm strength, giving him a shot to stick in center field if he can improve his instincts off the bat and making him a potential plus right fielder if he slides over. There is a ton of upside here as a potential 25+ home run hitter with middling on-base percentages, though his streaky bat could stand in the way. Turley closely resembles another recent A's draft pick in Colby Thomas.
5-141: RHP Zane Taylor, UNC Wilmington
Slot value: $513,900. Signing bonus: $513,900.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #174. Baseball America: #148.
Zane Taylor was on my radar as the draft approached, but ended up on the short list of guys I wanted to get to but ultimately didn't have the time for. He spent three years as a reliable innings eater at UNC Wilmington, but stepped forward in 2025 to put up one of the best statistical seasons in the entire country: 11-2, 1.98 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 105/11 K/BB in 95.2 innings. The 0.76 WHIP in particular was the best mark in the country by a large margin over second place JB Middleton of Southern Miss (now the Rockies) at 0.85. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and now reaches 98 at peak, though the pitch stands out more for its velocity than its life. He can cut in the upper 80's, more of a barrel misser than a bat misser, or he can turn it over into a truer curveball to steal strikes. A solid changeup gives him another tool that will work in his favor navigating big league lineups and does not need much development from here. A bit undersized for a "high floor" starting pitcher, he repeats his uptempo delivery very well for plus command that gave him a minuscule 3.0% walk rate in 2025, command that holds for both his fastball and his offspeed stuff. Taylor was already very old for his graduating class from the start, receiving his high school diploma right around his 19th birthday, so he was already 23 more than a month before the draft rolled around. That didn't stop the A's, who as with many other teams saw a nearly big league ready arm who would race through the minors. Indeed, the North Carolina native shot straight to AAA Las Vegas and threw well in his lone start, and he could join the rotation in Sacramento at some point next season. Taylor profiles best as a high probability #4 or #5 starter or long reliever. If he can add some life to his fastball or take a step forward with one of his offspeed pitches, he could reach his ceiling as a #3.
6-170: LHP Grant Richardson, Grand Canyon
Slot value: $390,100. Signing bonus: $400,000 ($9,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #287.
Not to be confused with current Marlins prospect and former Indiana star Grant Richardson, this Grant Richardson gives the A's a huge arm and potential excellent value coming off injury. He flashed big stuff as a freshman in 2023 then stepped forward in a larger role for Grand Canyon in 2024, but missed the whole 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery. He committed to cross half the country to Ole Miss in 2026, but instead accepted the A's' sixth round offer. He's a two pitch lefty that sits in the low to mid 90's and touches 97, then drops in a sharp, tight slider that misses plenty of bats. The goal in 2025 was going to be bringing along a changeup that functions as a tertiary pitch for now, but he'll have to do that in the A's' system once healthy. The 6'3" lefty is very physical and channels his strength into his power stuff. Working off a deep arm plunge that works into a longer arm action, he extends down the mound well with his lower half but is still learning to repeat his delivery consistently. He's shown fringy command in Phoenix that, like his changeup, he was hoping to fine tune a bit in 2025, and it remains to be seen whether he ever streamlines things enough to get to average. Richardson carries reliever risk due to that command and his lack of a reliable third pitch, but the A's believe the pause in his development only means he's ready to take a big step forward once healthy and develop into a mid-rotation horse. In the bullpen, his fastball should tick more consistently into the mid 90's and his deceptive delivery should give lefties fits.
10-290: RHP Samuel Dutton, Auburn
Slot value: $194,100. Signing bonus: $150,000 ($44,100 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #387.
Samuel Dutton has been around a while, but it wasn't until 2025 that he really got a chance to shine. Spending three seasons at LSU, he worked in a variety of different roles but ran an ERA over 6 and never quite settled in. A native of East Alabama, he transferred back closer to home and spent his senior year at Auburn, where he spent the entire season in the rotation and more than doubled his career high in innings. Now, he's sitting in the low 90's and touching 95 with his average fastball, adding a full arsenal of secondary pitches including a get-me-over curveball, a tighter slider, and a solid changeup. Nothing stands out as plus or even as above average, but he has long been a great strike thrower and finished his four year career with a 5.9% walk rate. The 5'11" righty isn't tall but is sturdily built, repeating his delivery well and showing the durability to last a full pro season in the rotation. While he lacks the explosiveness, athleticism, and bat-missing stuff to become an ace, Dutton's command and four pitch mix gives him a chance to be a #5 starter or long reliever at the big league level. Having spent four seasons and appeared in 73 games (31 starts) in the SEC, he has the big game experience as well.
17-500: SS Jared Davis, Virginia Tech
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $100,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Jared Davis has been around, and now he'll cross the country again. An Orlando native, he started off across the country at Arizona Western JC in Yuma before returning home to play his sophomore season at Florida Southwestern JC, hitting over .320 with an OBP above .410 at both stops. Evidently only playing at schools in the southwestern corner of their respective states, he answered the call when Virginia Tech gave him a Division I opportunity and served as the team's starting second baseman, where he hit more home runs (9) than he had at two years in junior college combined (8). Undersized at 5'9", he packs a lot of punch for his size and has become more adept at pulling the ball in the air, helping him make the most of his modest raw power. The ball jumps off his bat well for a smaller guy and there is reason to believe he could continue to flirt with double digit home runs in the pros. For a hitter jumping from JuCo ball to the ACC, he manages the zone reasonably well and makes solid contact, giving him a chance to be a fringe-average hitter with below average power. Important to note, though, that his performance suffered in conference play where he hit just .220/.313/.450, showing power but seeing his strikeout rate double from 10% to 20%. His arm limits him to the right side of the infield, but he moves well at second base with strong range and some speed. If he can show enough to play short or third in a pinch, he could work his way up as a utility infielder, but a more likely role as a 2B/LF will put a little more pressure on the bat if he wants to become a bench option for the A's.
20-590: RHP Kade Brown, Sacramento State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #487.
At least for now, Kade Brown gives the A's a hometown product if he can get to the big leagues quick enough. A native of Elk Grove in the southern Sacramento suburbs, he attended the same powerhouse Elk Grove High School that has produced numerous big leaguers including Buck Martinez, J.D. Davis, Rowdy Tellez, Nick Madrigal, Dylan Carlson, and David Hernandez, plus agent Scott Boras. Brown stayed home for college, heading just ten miles up Power Inn Road to play for Sacramento State. There, he blossomed into the Hornets' closer, saving 22 games with a 3.31 ERA and a 103/38 strikeout to walk ratio over two seasons. Brown does not have overpowering stuff, which is contrary to most pure college relief prospects, nor is he a pinpoint command guy, but he gets the job done. The fastball sits around 90 and peaks at about 93, playing up a bit with some life to sneak by bats. The ball dances well out of his hand with a nice, sharp slider that dives under barrels late, while his splitter has equally effective, late drop in the opposite direction. Between those three pitches, he's able to consistently keep hitters off balance as they have a hard time picking up the baseball out of his hand. That stuff played up in the Cape Cod League last summer, when he was a tad hittable but posted a sharp 19/3 strikeout to walk ratio in 15.1 innings. His command is probably fringy, which is tough sledding when you're a reliever throwing 90, so he has to rely on his secondary stuff dancing to remain effective. If the A's can help the 6'6" righty find an extra few ticks of velocity, he can crack it as a junkballing reliever. And if he can get up quickly, he could pitch in his hometown at Sutter Health Park before the team moves to Las Vegas.
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