The Athletics are a sneaky farm system going into 2025. It’s a system built via the draft and trades over the last couple of seasons. They have particularly hit on intriguing talent just outside of the first round.
How close are we to another Athletics competitive run? Well, closer than you may think.
DEVELOPMENTS
You’d be hard-pressed to many systems in baseball as balanced as the Athletics. Our Top 20 prospects for the organization are almost split right down the middle. Twelve hitters. Eight pitchers. And many of these players should debut for the team in the next 18 months.
The Athletics have targetted high-floor bats in recent drafts and that should lend well toward results in the coming seasons. Jacob Wilson debuted in 2024 and retains rookie eligibility in 2025. He’s a not-so-sneaky candidate for Rookie of the Year this summer if the power comes along.
Nick Kurtz was the No. 4 pick in the 2024 Draft and shot through the system to finish the season at Double-A Midland. His .368/.520/.763 slash across 50 plate appearances certainly supports the industry notion he was the most polished bat available in July. Expect Kurtz to get at-bats in Sacramento in September.
LSU third baseman Tommy White was the team’s second-round pick last year and could shoot through the system too, however, it’s more likely the Athletics will give White every opportunity possible to develop into a true third baseman before moving him across the diamond. Expect to see him in late 2026.
Outfielder Colby Thomas was another shrewd draft pick, a third-rounder in 2022. He’s flown up the ladder and ended up getting a healthy run at Triple-A last year. He’s a candidate to break camp with the team and is another sneaky rookie of the year candidate if he hits enough to get to his gaudy raw power.
On the pitching front, the Athletics have a trio of exciting arms who should throw important innings for the team in 2025.
Jack Perkins had a roller coaster collegiate career bouncing between three different programs, and dealing with injuries all along the way. He ended up getting popped as a fifth-rounder at Indiana in 2022, but many believed he was a first-round talent in 2021 at Louisville before the injuries.
Perkins threw 76 innings at Double-A last year and is set to make the jump to Triple-A in 2025. He’s a fastball-sweeper arm for the most part, but he’ll fold in a cutter and curveball to mix things up. The industry as a whole is hoping he stays healthy next spring. He’s got a July ticket to Sacramento if he does.
Mason Barnett was a third-rounder in 2022 and also arrived at Double-A last season. Armed with a mid-90s fastball with unique shape, he’s blistered the opposition at times. He’ll likely debut for the Athletics at some point next summer joining Perkins and newly acquired rotation-mate Luis Severino.
Right-hander Luis Morales might be the best pitching prospect in the organization but has only pitched to High-A at this point. He’ll touch triple digits and couple it with disgusting mid-80s slider to get his whiffs. Morales is unlikely to make the jump to the big leagues in 2025, but he’s not too far off.
This is an organization that has the makings of a pretty compelling rotation in 2026 if everything breaks their way.
QUESTIONS
Despite their overall balance, in 2025 the A’s will have to rely on what’s already on the 40-man roster and trades to fill their impact rotation needs, and that could stretch into 2026.
Morales and Gunnar Higlund could see the big leagues this coming season, but neither will start there, and Morales has yet to pitch above High-A. Kade Morris could poke through, too, but expecting impact soon would be unwise.
The rest of their top arms are better bets for 2026 and 2027.
The projected middle infield of Wilson and Max Muncy could come to fruition early next season, however. Muncy is an impressive, high-energy player who performs beyond his tools.
White mashed at LSU, and while third base seems a bit far-fetched for him — not to mention some questions about his approach — the chances he gets to Double-A in 2025 are more than fair.
Rodney Green, the club’s fourth-round pick in July, is another in a long line of athletic players with power and on-base skills who need to find more contact but come with significant upside. Green showed out at Class-A Stockton, including a .368 OBP and 13 stolen bases.
| LEVEL | TEAM | W-L | TOP PROSPECT |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Las Vegas | 74-75 | Colby Thomas, OF |
| AA | Midland | 85-54 | Nick Kurtz, 1B |
| A+ | Lansing | 59-72 | Luis Morales, RHP |
| A | Stockton | 46-84 | Tommy White, 3B |
| R | Athletics | 24-36 | Cole Miller, RHP |
| DSL | Athletics | 22-33 | Edgar Montero, SS |
ADDITIONS & SUBTRACTIONS
The Athletics got the farm shuffle started with the acquisition of RHP Ross Stripling in April, shipping OF Jonah Cox to San Francisco. Then the A’s traded for RHP Alex Speas. Speas has since moved to Minnesota.
It all got interesting in June when the club acquired SS Jordan Groshans in exchange for J.D. Davis to set up a busy deadline.
In the draft, Kurtz, White, Gage Jump, and infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer in the first three rounds, then grabbed Green and RHP Sam Sturh and Josiah Romeo.
Catchers Dylan Fien and Davis Diaz, 3B Jared Sprague-Lott, and OF Cameron Leary rounded out the top 10 rounds.
At the deadline, the A’s acquired Morris from the New York Mets in return for RHP Paul Blackburn and sent RHP Lucas Erceg to the Kansas City Royals for RHPs Mason Barrett and Will Klein, and OF Jared Dickey.
GRADUATIONS
Max Schuemann, SS
Kyle McCann, C
Brett Harris, 3B
Darell Hernaiz, IF
Armando Alvarez, 1B
Mason Miller, RHP
Mitch Spence, RHP
Joey Estes, RHP
Michel Otañez, RHP
Tyler Ferguson, RHP
BIG-LEAGUE RADAR
Kurtz, 1B
Henry Bolte, OF
Barnett, RHP
Thomas, OF
Perkins, RHP
Max Muncy, SS
Denzel Clarke, OF
Daniel Susac, C
Gunnar Hoglund, RHP
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS
Morris, RHP
Brennan Milone, 1B
Brayan Buelvas, OF
Logan Davidson, SS
SCOUT SAYS
“This group has never stopped doing it their way, have they? It’s pure and it’s worked enough to win at the big-league level for a long time. Their recent struggles have very little to do with how well they scout and draft, I think we know that…”
“They have a few key hitters who swing and miss a lot… (Denzel) Clarke, (Henry) Bolte, (Max) Muncy, and a few others. If they can find way into more contact with them they will have three major league regulars inside a year or so. Lots of tools, including speed and defense in the system right now.”
- Farm System Snapshot: (Oakland) Athletics - December 31, 2024
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