Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. RHP Mason Miller | 25 | MLB | 2023
Miller will move to the bullpen after starting six games in 2023. He’ll have the best stuff in that relief corps by a fair margin and could quickly settle in as the closer and dominate with his 98.3 mile per hour fastball, which might tick up if he takes to the role. He mixes that in with a plus slider and plus changeup. The club has stated an intent to move him back to the rotation after a year in relief, but I’d bet he’s so good back there that they just leave him in the ninth.
2. SS Darell Hernaiz | 22 | AAA | 2024
Someone’s gotta play in the infield in Oakland. Zack Gelof is secure at second or third base. Abraham Toro is listed at third base on RosterResource. Hernaiz is listed as the starting shortstop. They might sign Tim Anderson, but the waiting game is thick this winter. Hernaiz came over from Baltimore in the Cole Irvin trade and slashed .338/.393/.486 with five home runs and seven steals in 71 Double-A games then slashed .300/.376/.418 with four homers and six steals in 60 Triple-A games. Doesn’t have much to prove in the minors, as those lines came with great plate skills against older players. He struck out just 10.7 percent of the time in those 60 Triple-A games. I’m hoping he’ll be on my AL-Only roster as I go for the three-peat in the CBS Analysts League.
3. 3B Brett Harris | 25 | AAA | 2024
I’m prioritizing playing time even more than usual on this list because I think there’s at bats for the taking, and if someone gets settled into a spot, it’s hard to knock him off, which has a touch extra value on a team that could/should find a hitter-friendly climate awaiting them in Vegas. Harris can play third or second base, and at the moment it’s pretty much just Abraham Toro and Jordan Diaz standing between him and a starting spot. I like Diaz. I’m just saying the window is at least cracked here, and Harris is a good enough all-around player to sneak through it. He’s in the process of trying to trade contact (13.4% K-rate in AA) for power, and I’m curious to see if he can do just enough of everything to claim a spot. He’ll probably be on the AL-Only roster at some point, too. It’s often guys on teams like this one that help me a lot. Last year, I had Esteury Ruiz and Brent Rooker. Combine ’em and you’ve got prime Eric Davis. Doesn’t necessarily put you over the edge in mixed, though Ruiz certainly helped no matter where you were, but getting that kind of playing time and category oompf on the cheap is impactful stuff in deeper formats. Harris is no Ruiz, but he can run, too.
4. SS Jacob Wilson | 22 | A+ | 2025
The sixth overall pick in 2023, Wilson slashed .318/.378/.455 with one homer and four steals in 23 High-A games. He’s 6’3” and 190 lbs so might have more power than his old man, Jack, but currently plays more like a contact bat. Might make for a sneaky pick if Oakland’s move to Vegas nets them a cozy hitters’ home park.
5. RHP Joe Boyle | 24 | MLB | 2023
Joe Boyle rules! Side note: I could not remember who the A’s traded for Boyle because I could not remember who the A’s had that anyone in contention would want. It was Sam Moll and international pool money, by the way. Boyle looked great for the A’s, posting ERA’s of 2.08 in Double-A, 2.25 in Triple-A, and 1.69 in the majors. 17.1, 16, and 16 innings at those stops, respectively. In one reality, Boyle just clicks into place, harnesses his double plus fastball, plus slider and plus curve and becomes a dominant major league starter. In other realities, the newly functional control fades, leaving Boyle a reliever with dynamite stuff. Oakland has plenty of time to let him learn at the big league level.
6. SS Max Muncy | 21 | AA | 2025
The 25th overall pick in 2021, Muncy struck out a lot in his first full season, but he brought that number down from around 30 to 23.2 percent in 51 Double-A games in 2023, during which he slashed .302/.387/.446 with four home runs and four steals. It’s not the loudest tool box you’ve ever heard, but it should get the job done. He’s been playing against older players since he entered the league out of high school, so there’s probably a little more than meets the eye in his 6’1” 180 lb frame.
7. OF Denzel Clarke | 23 | AA | 2025
This system has a blend of floor and upside on both sides of the ball, with the 6’5” 220 lb Clarke representing a fair portion of the upside on offense. In 64 Double-A games, he struck out 29.7 percent of the time but drew walks at a 12.9 percent clip and posted a 130 wRC+ with 12 home runs and 11 stolen bases. A bet on Clarke is partly a bet that he’s a little behind in experience due to injury and region (he’s from Canada) and should make up time with reps. He was much better in 2023 than he was at High-A in 2022, and I think real late-bloomer traits are pretty obvious in his game.
8. RHP Luis Morales | 21 | A+ | 2026
A smooth fireballer at 6’3” 190 lbs, Morales could make this ranking look bad early in 2024. A package of four plus pitches with plus velocity and plus command in a repeatable delivery seemed to be coming together quickly in 2023, a season that saw Morales pitch at four levels and succeed at every stop. The fastball was already popping high nineties when he signed for $3 million in January and might have another tick or two to go until it reaches its peak.
9. C Daniel Susac | 22 | AA | 2025
Better real-life prospect than a fantasy piece. Susac has that catchin blood. You might remember his older brother Andrew. Unlike him, Daniel is a right-handed hitter and has a little more power at 6’4” 218 lbs. He slashed .303/.373/.437 with seven homers and eight steals in 99 High-A games before closing the year out with a couple weeks in Double-A. Shea Langelliers seems pretty well entrenched in the gig at the moment, but we know the drill with this club. If he’s any good, he’ll likely be gone by the time Susac looks like an everyday option.
10. OF Henry Bolte | 20 | A | 2026
If you’ve seen the animated film BOLT featuring the vocal talents of John Travolta, you have some idea of what this outfielder can do on a ballfield. Actually, that all turns out to be fake: the dog’s powers, whereas Bolte’s talents are real through and through. He stole 32 bases and hit 14 homers in 112 Low-A games despite striking out 33.4 percent of the time. That’s the long term rub for the 6’3” 195 lb right-handed hitter with enough athleticism to keep centerfield in play deep into his minor league career. The 56th overall pick out of high school in 2022, Bolte will be a big league regular with power and speed if he can get his contact rate closer to average.
Thanks for reading!
