The voting continues
Due to popular demand, we at Athletics Nation have decided to continue our Community Prospect List an extra five spots! What was once going to be a top-20 list of A’s fans’ top prospects will now be 25. So buckle up, everyone. We still got a bit of a ways to go here.
Taking the top spot in this most recent round is left-hander Brady Basso. The 27-year old has already made his MLB debut, pitching a decent 22 1⁄3 innings in his first cup of coffee this past season. Basso, a former 16th-round draft pick, looks like rotation depth at the moment but should be up with the big league club at some point this season one way or another. His curveball is reminiscent of longtime starter Barry Zito, which has fans clamoring for the team to give him an extended look. He’ll likely have to earn that chance in Triple-A before getting his second stint of duty with the big league squad.
2024 stats (AA,AAA): 4.55 ERA, 93 IP, 109 K, 25 BB, 18 HR, 4.79 FIP
2024 stats (MLB): 4.03 ERA, 22 1⁄3 IP, 19 K, 5 BB, 3 HR, 3.88 FIP
With Basso now on the board next on the nomination list will be third baseman Myles Naylor. The younger brother of big leaguers Bo and Josh Naylor, the youngest of the trio was taken by the A’s 39th overall in 2023, making him a premium pick for a team that needs to hit on its draft. Still just 19, Naylor isn’t as good a prospect as his two older brothers but still has lots of power potential and has baseball in his blood. If he can cut down on the strikeouts then he could get himself on the fast track through the system.
The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:
- Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
- If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.
- If you wish to nominate a prospect for the next round, clearly comment, “Nomination: (player)” and fellow readers will upvote your comment.
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A’s fans top prospects, ranked:
1. Jacob Wilson, SS
2. Nick Kurtz, 1B
3. Luis Morales, RHP
4. Denzel Clarke, OF
5. Max Muncy, SS
6. Colby Thomas, OF
7. Mason Barnett, RHP
8. Jack Perkins, RHP
9. Henry Bolte, OF
10. Steven Echavarria, RHP
11. Tommy White, 3B
12. JT Ginn, RHP
13. Gunnar Hoglund, RHP
14. Gage Jump, LHP
15. Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang
16. Daniel Susac, C
17. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer
18. Brady Basso
The voting continues now! Here’s a quick rundown on each one — the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline (last updated mid-2024).
Nominees on the current ballot:
Grant Holman, RHP
Expected level: MLB | Age 24
2024 stats (AA/AAA): 0.55 ERA, 48 2⁄3 IP, 54 K, 22 BB, 1 HR, 3.13 FIP
2024 stats (MLB): 4.02 ERA, 15 2⁄3 IP, 16 K, 9 BB, 1 HR, 3.87 FIP
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Splitter: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40
Much of Holman’s step forward this season has come simply as a result of being healthy and getting regular reps. He’s always had pretty electric stuff and has finally gotten the opportunity to harness it. It starts with a fastball that sits around 95 mph with excellent life, which misses a good amount of bats. He backs it up with sharp low-80s slider that can also be an out pitch at times, and he still employs a splitter as his changeup, though he doesn’t use it as often as a short reliever.
Holman has long had a bulldog mentality on the bump and likes to attack hitters, something that serves him well in the back end of the bullpen. He also doesn’t have to worry about pinpoint command and the hope is it gives him a better chance of staying on the mound. The 2021 Draft has already produced several big leaguers and prospects — including current A’s closer Mason Miller — and it’s not hard to see Holman joining Miller in a setup type role in the near future.
Myles Naylor, 3B
Expected level: A+ | Age 19
2024 stats (A): 132 PA, .208/.280/.375, 2 doubles, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 11 BB, 52 K, 2 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45
Naylor is a little less polished with the bat than Josh and Bo when they were drafted, though the A’s like what they have seen so far, raving about his legitimate power they hope to see show up in games soon. His bat speed is impressive with smooth extension and follow-through. Like most young hitters, there is some swing-and-miss, and his struggles with breaking stuff crept up at times while playing with Stockton as he struck out 52 times in 132 plate appearances.
Naylor’s average speed is likely to slow down as he matures and grows into his body. He was a shortstop in high school and played there for all but one game with Stockton, but an eventual move to third base is likely to come at some point, which should be fine given his hands and strong arm.
Rodney Green, OF
Expected level: A | Age 21
2024 stats (A): 108 PA, .289/.368/.464, 2 doubles, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 13 BB, 30 K, 9 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40
Green possesses an exciting power-speed combination, but enthusiasm is dampened by his propensity to swing-and-miss. There’s a ton of raw pop for him to tap into, and while he started turning on pitches and hitting balls out to his pull side as a sophomore, the left-handed hitter might be at his best when he lets the ball travel and he drives it the opposite way, something he did last fall. There was hope that was a sign of an improved hit tool, but his strikeout rate hovered around 28 percent in 2024. His unorthodox mechanics at the plate — he doesn’t use his lower half – have continued to hamper him.
Green is an easily plus runner, the kind of long strider who is even better underway. That helps him cover a lot of ground and could give him a chance to play center field, though some scouts think he might be better suited to left, and he’s worked hard to build his arm strength from well below average in high school to average now. There’s still a lot of ceiling here, but the lack of consistent contact will be a hurdle to overcome.
Ayden Johnson, SS
Expected level: Rookie | Age 17
Signed out of the Bahamas on January 20th
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
Equipped with MLB-level physicality at a young age, Johnson fits the mold of a bat-first young prospect evaluators can dream on. He starts from a clean right-handed setup at the plate and then unleashes a fast and crisp bat path, which enables him to pepper the ball to all fields. His mental acumen earns high marks as well. He has keyed in on the zone as he has matured, beginning to hunt his pitch to do extra damage.
While reps at shortstop in the pro ranks are precious (and some evaluators see a move to either the hot corner or the keystone as likely), Johnson’s athleticism will allow him to stick at the spot for now. A solid-if-unspectacular runner, he is rock steady up the middle, forgoing defensive flash for consistent actions.
Shotaro Morii, SS/RHP
Expected level: Rookie | Age 18
Signed out of Japan on January 15th
Morii is a two-way player who attended a small school in Japan and played most of his teenage career away from the tutelage of NPB academies, emerging late in his high school career as a projected first-round pick had he entered the NPB draft. His bonus, which comes out of the A’s 2025 international pool, is believed to be the largest ever for a Japanese player who did not play in NPB.
A left-handed hitter, Morii said he has been a two-way player since he was 8. He hit 45 home runs in three seasons while also pitching at Tokyo’s TOHO Junior and Senior High School. He will start at the lowest minor league level in Mesa, Arizona, with the Arizona Complex League Athletics.
While the majority of international scouts have higher belief in Morii’s long-term offensive prowess, the tantalizing upside on the hill is undeniable. In addition to the attributes that pop, Morii excites evaluators due to his relatively light usage on the mound. He’s only been pitching with regularity for around the past 18 months, giving him something of a fresh arm as he enters the organization.
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