MLB 26-and-under power rankings: No. 28 Oakland Athletics

By Pedro Moura
Published

FOX Sports' 26-and-under power rankings are a new spin on the classic prospect rankings. Yes, prospects are important, but with all the game-changing young talent already in the bigs, farm systems alone can’t tell the whole story. So we’re diving deep into every single MLB club, ranking them all by the players in an organization entering their age-26 season or younger — from the bigs to the farm. Each weekday through March 24, we’ll count down from last to first. 

No. 28 Oakland Athletics
26-and-under total score: 12 (out of 30)

Unlike their fellow cellar dwellers on our young-talent rankings, the Athletics aren’t especially deficient in any one category. They possess current big-league hitters and pitchers who meet the criteria. Nor is either department entirely deficient in the farm system.

Oakland’s issue, rather, is that they don’t exactly excel anywhere, and it does not look like they will excel somewhere three or four years down the line, either. They have at least added significant young talent over the last 12 months, much of it directly imported from the Atlanta Braves’ organization.

Big-league position players: 4 (out of 10)  

Count catcher Shea Langeliers, outfielder Cristian Pache and left-hander Kyle Muller as members of the crew of Braves-turned-A’s. And outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz, too, arrived by way of Atlanta, through a three-team trade. 

Langeliers, 25, is a great bet to be at least an average player for the foreseeable future, and a solid bet to be something more, albeit probably not a star. Pache, though still 24, is no longer a good bet to become anything valuable, but he still offers some upside potential because of his defensive abilities. 

The A's evidently view Ruiz as a better talent than the rest of the industry does. That’s the only logical explanation for their insistence on his inclusion as part of the return for prized catcher Sean Murphy, whom they traded to Atlanta. Ruiz came from Milwaukee, where he had arrived only six months earlier as part of another trade, from San Diego. Though he turns 24 today, Ruiz has already been traded three times since he signed as an international free agent in 2015.

The appeal is obvious: He’s fast, doesn’t strike out a ton, and extracts a surprising amount of power from his 169-pound frame. The flaws are also fairly clear: He doesn’t field a position particularly well and doesn’t consistently make hard contact. The A’s could be betting that Ruiz will be a force within MLB’s new rules, which will increase the size of bases and make base-stealing slightly easier.

Oakland did add a young player since we formulated our rankings: Over the weekend, they traded left-hander A.J. Puk to Miami for outfielder JJ Bleday, a 25-year-old former No. 4 overall pick who struggled as a Marlin.  

Big-league pitchers: 2 (out of 10)

It’s worth noting that, not long ago, Puk was considered part of the A’s future core. In fact, ahead of the 2020 season, Oakland’s farm system was ranked in the top half of the sport, led by three consensus top-100 prospects: Puk, Murphy and left-hander Jesús Luzardo.

None of them are A’s anymore, as Luzardo moved to Miami in Oakland’s July 2021 trade for outfielder Starling Marte. Luzardo looks at least like a mid-rotation starter. That’s how quickly this organization has churned through its players in recent seasons. Muller, 25, has reliever risk, but his stuff is good enough that some evaluators believe he can start. Surely, Oakland will start to find out in 2023.

Prospect pitchers: 2 (out of 5) 

For as little as they project to win at the big-league level in 2023, you’d hope to see a lot of approaching talent from the minors. The A’s have … some. Right-handers Royber Salinas, 21, and Freddy Tarnok, 24, both part of the Murphy return, have potential. So does 23-year-old right-hander Gunnar Hoglund, the key piece Oakland received from Toronto in 2022’s Matt Chapman trade. 

Luis Medina, a 23-year-old right-hander who was part of the return for Frankie Montas, certainly once had potential. He participated in the 2021 Futures Game. But he walked so many men last year that his future looks murky. Left-hander Ken Waldichuk, who was involved in the same trade, held his own in seven major-league starts last season and could garner more this year.

Prospect position players: 3 (out of 5) 

On the position-player side, the top talent is catcher Tyler Soderstrom, a 21-year-old local product who has consistently rated as a top-50 prospect. Soderstrom’s hitting talent is undeniable. His defensive abilities are the question, and some scouts believe he is best suited to a career at first base. Behind Soderstrom are infielders Zack Gelof, 23, and Jordan Díaz, 22, who could both play in the majors this season. 

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the Dodgers for The Athletic, the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and L.A. Times, and his alma mater, USC, for ESPN Los Angeles. He is the author of "How to Beat a Broken Game." Follow him on Twitter at @pedromoura.

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