The A's drafted four consecutive position players to start off the draft, including three outfielders that all have a broad enough skill set to develop into true five tool players. They kind of spent the rest of the draft playing bonus catchup after going more than $650,000 above slot value to sign second rounder Henry Bolte and six figures over slot again to sign third rounder Colby Thomas, but they have to feel great about getting a whole new outfield and a potential starting catcher all early in the draft. There are no slam dunk starting pitchers in this class, with the first two arms they selected showing considerable stuff but difficulty harnessing it and perhaps their best bet, eleventh rounder Christian Oppor, turning them down so he could attend JuCo in Florida.
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1-19: C Daniel Susac, Arizona. My rank: #15.
Slot value: $3.53 million. Signing bonus: $3.53 million.
The A's got great value here in the back of the teens, landing a catcher that many thought was talented enough to go in the top ten picks. The younger brother of former Giants catcher Andrew Susac, Daniel is also a hometown kid that grew up in the northeastern Sacramento suburb of Roseville, meanwhile commuting to Carmichael to attend Jesuit High School. He earned a lot of draft attention there in the five round 2020 draft, but opted to head to Arizona for college and that move paid off. Susac made an immediate impact in Tucson, slashing .335/.392/.591 with twelve home runs as a freshman, then stepped it up a notch in 2022 by slashing .366/.429/.582 with twelve more home runs and a 52/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 games. Working with a strong, long limbed, 6'4" frame, he produces high exit velocities from the right side that give him plus raw power when he lifts the ball. He's an aggressive hitter whose 7.4% walk rate was actually the lowest on my entire draft board this spring, but his above average bat to ball skills help him make a ton of hard contact regardless and strikeouts have never been an issue. In pro ball, he'll probably want to refine that approach a little bit as pitchers start to take advantage of the chases, but it's not terribly concerning given the rest of the profile. Behind the plate, he stands out as one of the better pitch framers in the class, so he'll provide immense value in that regard until MLB one day implements robo umps. His defense is otherwise average, enough to help him stick back there but he probably won't be winning many Gold Gloves. Together, it's an everyday catcher's profile that could produce 25+ home runs annually with solid on-base percentages. Two of the Athletics' past three first round picks have been catchers from the Central Valley, with Susac joining Turlock's Tyler Soderstrom, though Soderstrom is playing less and less catcher. Susac debuted in the Arizona Complex League and picked up three hits in his first two games.
2-56: OF Henry Bolte, Palo Alto HS [CA]. My rank: #41.
Slot value: $1.34 million. Signing bonus: $2 million ($658,100 above slot value).
After going local to the east with the Sacramento area's Daniel Susac, the A's went local again to the west by grabbing Henry Bolte out of Palo Alto High School. Bolte didn't come cheap, costing more than $650,000 above slot value to sign away from a Texas commitment, but he has a chance to be a special hitter in Oakland. He's a great athlete with a big, physical 6'3" frame oozing with tools. His right handed swing produces a ton of torque and high exit velocities, so the next step there will be helping him loft the ball more effectively and turn that plus raw power into more home runs in games. He also has a ways to go with his approach at the plate, but he does show the ability to impact the ball to all fields and should take well to pro pitching with a little refinement. Bolte has plus speed that could keep him in center field, where his plus arm could make him a Gold Glover if it all comes together. There is huge upside here as a potential five tool player, and he's not terribly far off from that ceiling for a high schooler. Oakland may opt to take it slow with their potential future star, but this will be a fun one to track and he has two hits in his first six at bats in the ACL.
CBB-69: OF Clark Elliott, Michigan. My rank: #81.
Slot value: $977,500. Signing bonus: $900,000 ($77,500 below slot value).
Clark Elliott has a lot of fans out in the Midwest, and it looks like the A's were among them. He didn't put up big numbers in his first two years at Michigan, but turned a lot of heads when he hit .344/.464/.478 with a strong 20/17 strikeout to walk ratio in the elite Cape Cod League last summer. He continued that success in Ann Arbor this spring, where he hit .337/.460/.630 with 16 home runs and a 56/49 strikeout to walk ratio over 61 games. Elliott has plenty of wiry strength in his lean 6' frame and has always shown strong feel for the barrel, previously employing a line drive, all-fields approach. In 2022, he began turning on and elevating the ball more effectively, tapping some pull side power that should play in pro ball. There are some concerns over his ability to handle quality breaking stuff, but overall it's a very well-rounded offensive profile augmented by plus speed that will help him stay in center field. There's no one plus tool here aside from that speed, but the Chicago-area native projects to be a well-rounded profile that can impact the game in a number of ways. He walked and scored in his first game in the ACL.
3-95: OF Colby Thomas, Mercer. My rank: #71.
Slot value: $642,100. Signing bonus: $750,000 ($107,900 above slot value).
The A's rounded out their outfield by selecting Colby Thomas out of Mercer, and he has a chance to be the best player in the group. He was up and down as an underclassman then showed well in the Cape Cod League last summer before breaking out in 2022 with a .325/.451/.734 slash line, 17 home runs, and a 32/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 games. Thomas is not huge at a listed 6', 190 pounds, but he can really put a charge into a baseball with a very leveraged right handed swing, great bat speed, and strong feel for the barrel. Those 17 home runs in 42 games this year were no fluke, and he should continue to hit for power in pro ball. Previously an aggressive hitter with some swing and miss in his game, the South Georgia native smoothed that out considerably this year and walked more than he struck out. It remains to be seen how Thomas handles the jump to professional pitching from the Southern Conference, but if it goes smoothly, this could end up being a steal of a pick. Meanwhile, he's not quite as fast as Henry Bolte or Clark Elliott, but he is a good runner that has a shot at center field if he hits and those guys don't or if Bolte slows down as he fills out. He has a good arm to top it off, giving him a chance to be a five tool player just like the other two outfielders here.
4-124: RHP Jacob Watters, West Virginia. My rank: #146.
Slot value: $483,500. Signing bonus: $491,750 ($8,250 above slot value).
The first pitcher of the draft for Oakland is an interesting one. Jacob Watters didn't get much exposure growing up in one of the most remote corners of Virginia, so he ended up on campus at West Virginia and has shown off some of the more impressive arm strength in the class. The numbers weren't pretty this year, with a 6.22 ERA and a 75/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 59.1 innings as a swingman, but he did strike out fifteen Longhorns during a start against Texas in May and there is a lot to work with. Watters sits in the mid 90's with his fastball and can touch triple digits in relief, just overpowering hitters when they're not explicitly sitting on the pitch. His curveball is his best pitch, coming in with huge spin and tight break, and together it's one of the better fastball/curveball combinations out there. He also throws a changeup, but it's well behind the fastball and curveball. Watters has shown well in relief but has really struggled as a starter, where his below average command really hurts him and he struggles to maintain his stuff. The 6'4", 230 pound righty is country strong and does have a chance to start if he can get that command ironed out and work on his changeup, but his most likely destination is the bullpen where he'll rely on the fastball and curveball. It's a fun profile with some upside here in the fourth round.
5-154: RHP Jack Perkins, Indiana. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $361,000. Signing bonus: $270,750 ($90,250 below slot value).
The A's spent big on their first five picks and now in the fifth round find themselves nearly $700,000 over their bonus pool pick for pick, so the money savings start in earnest here. Jack Perkins had serious draft interest out of Louisville last year, but walked 22 batters 16 innings and decided to stay in school. He transferred from Louisville to Indiana, which was closer to home, and got the opportunity to start that he wouldn't have gotten at Louisville. This year, he put up a 5.10 ERA and a 91/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 83 innings for the Hoosiers, unremarkable numbers on the surface but a big step forward from where he was. Perkins can sit in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, getting up to 97 in relief and coming in with big spin rates, but there were times in 2022 where he hung closer to 90. He works in vicious, plus slider that looks like one of the better breaking balls in the draft at its best, while also showing a cutter and a changeup. The Kokomo native's command improved from non-playable in 2021 to below average in 2022 as he smoothed out his delivery considerably, and if he moves back to the bullpen in pro ball, it should be good enough. Given how he couldn't quite maintain his stuff in a starting role, in addition to the command questions, I think the bullpen is where he belongs, and he could be a nasty reliever if the transition goes how it should. Aside from being a year older and a few inches shorter, there are some similarities here to Jacob Watters.
6-184: 3B Brennan Milone, Oregon. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $277,300. Signing bonus: $200,00 ($77,300 below slot value).
Brennan Milone was a big name for the 2019 draft out of high school in the Atlanta area, but made it to campus at South Carolina where he played sparingly and struggled to make an impact for two years. Looking for a change of scenery, he transferred across the country to Oregon this year and broke out with a .337/.405/.545 slash line, 12 home runs, and a 36/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 games for the Ducks. He makes a ton of contact from the right side, with a strong approach at the plate and good pitch recognition ability. Though there isn't huge power in his 6'1" frame, he finds the barrel frequently enough to tap what he has, and should continue to hit for impact at the next level. It's not the most exciting offensive profile, but he should get on base and could hit around 15 home runs per season at his peak if things break right. He's an average defender with enough arm for third base, adding to the well rounded profile here. To top it off, he's young for a college junior and only turned 21 in May, adding a little extra development time, not that he really needs it. He picked up two hits, including a double, in his first four at bats in the ACL while adding a walk.
8-244: RHP Micah Dallas, Texas A&M. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $177,100. Signing bonus: $125,000 ($52,100 below slot value).
Micah Dallas earned some draft attention after a successful three year career at Texas Tech, but decided to transfer to Texas A&M for his senior season rather than turning pro. The results were more good than great with a 5.18 ERA and an 86/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 81.2 innings, so all in all his stock is roughly in the same place it was last year. He sits around 90 with his fastball usually a tick above and tops out around 93, coming in with steep angle. His best pitch is a downer slider, while he also works in a solid changeup. It's not the loudest stuff in the draft, but he's a bulldog on the mound that throws everything with conviction, daring hitters to hit it, and as a result walks have not been an issue for him. The 6'2" righty throws with some effort and given the average stuff, he's probably better suited for bullpen work where it can hopefully take a step forward, and his demeanor would work very well in that role. He never quite took the step forward I was hoping to see, but I still like this pick as an eighth round money saver.
13-394: RHP Jake Pfennigs, Oregon State. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
The A's picked up an interesting senior sign in Jake Pfennigs, though it will take some work to make him a major league option. He did a good job keeping runs off the board in 2022 with a 3.96 ERA for Oregon State, but was otherwise mediocre with a 1.79 WHIP and a 30/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 36.1 innings. He stands 6'7" with a high release point, giving his low 90's fastball some of the most extreme downhill plane in college baseball. Despite that, its generic movement makes it extremely straight and easy to square up, so the A's will want to play with his release and find a way to help the pitch play better to its slot. He works with a slider, curve, and changeup to round out his arsenal, with decent feel for spin that can keep hitters off his fastball but nothing to this point that misses a ton of bats. Oakland's main focus will be that fastball, but helping him sharpen up at least one offspeed pitch will help too. The northern Idaho native throws enough strikes to make it work, and it's hard to find another prospect with his release characteristics so they have themselves a unicorn. He's probably middle inning reliever but he could crack it as a #5 starter if everything breaks right and the A's unlock something with his fastball.
