Who will you rank at #15?
A’s Nation Community Prospect voters selected Gage Jump for the #14 slot in the latest poll. Jump was the Competitive Balance (Round B) pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 2024 Draft. He started fifteen games last year for LSU and ended the season with a 6-2 record and one save for the Tigers. He has yet to make his A’s debut. Jump’s collegiate stats last year look like this:
2024 stats (LSU): 3.47 ERA, 83 IP, 101 K, 22 BB, 9 HR, 3.30 FIP
Twenty-one year old outfielder Rodney Green is the next nominee for the A’s Nation Community Prospect list. Green was drafted in the fourth Round of the Amateur Draft by the A’s out of UC-Berkeley. Green spent his first season in the Oakland Athletics organization with the Stockton Ports where he played Centerfield and occasionally DH’d.
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
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:
Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, RHP
Expected level: AA | Age 24
2024 stats (A): 1.67 ERA, 32 1⁄3 IP, 37 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 2.65 FIP
2024 stats (A+): 2.56 ERA, 31 2⁄3 IP, 29 K, 3 BB, 2 HR, 2.72 FIP
2024 stats (AA): 2.05 ERA, 22 IP, 18 K, 5 BB, 2 HR, 3.77 FIP
MLB Pipeline foolishly still doesn’t have Zhuang in its Top 30 prospects, so here’s the scouting report from Nathaniel Stoltz at Excessive Prospect Analysis, who ranked him 10th last season:
Zhuang is starting to get a bit of buzz this year, but as I’ve written and this ranking reinforces, I think he’s probably the most underrated prospect in the system (One could argue some of the unknown Rookie-level guys get that honor, but that’s semantics). He’s dominated when healthy, and fundamentally I start at the same place here as I did with Jack Perkins at 11: I’ve got a ton of confidence in Zhuang’s two primary offerings. In this case, that’s his carrying mid-90s fastball and his changeup/splitter/both/whatever you want to make of his off-speed pitches, which have been untouchable in A-ball and which he commands very well. He does a nice job balancing an aggressive approach–coming right at hitters with the heat–with all sorts of cunning, changing speeds and shapes on pitches in ways that can really hold up several times through the order.
Zhuang is only a few months shy of turning 24 and still in A-ball–due to injury layoff, certainly not performance–so he still has a lot to prove, even if I think he’ll prove it quickly. First and foremost, he’s got to prove he can stay healthy. Beyond that, there’s still the matter of his breaking stuff–particularly the harder breaking ball that keeps morphing between slider and cutter, and his extreme flyball tendency. But as I noted in the longform analysis, Zhuang’s two best pitches + command are tough for anyone in the system to equal. He looks the part of a solid mid-rotation starter and should be able to move up the remaining levels quickly if health allows.
Daniel Susac, C
Expected level: Double-A | Age 25
2024 stats (AA): 370 PA, .257/.300/.434, 19 doubles, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 16 BB, 96 K, 7 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
There is some athleticism to the 6-foot-4 Susac, who was a standout dual-threat quarterback in high school. His stylish swing comes with good bat-to-ball skills and an ability to drive the ball to all fields. There is some legit raw power that was touted as an amateur that the A’s hope to see emerge as he continues his transition to pro ball.
Susac’s defensive prowess was part of the package that made him such a highly ranked catcher in his Draft class. His overall catching skills, particularly his receiving, improved as his first full season went along. Lauded for his strong arm and natural leadership characteristics, he will look to continue his impact on both sides of the diamond as he progresses through the system.
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS
Expected level: Double-A | Age 22
2024 stats (A,A+,AAA): 108 PA, .324/.421/.343, 2 doubles, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 12 BB, 9 K, 5 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
Compact, strong and athletic, Kuroda-Grauer does a lot of things well from the right side of the plate. He almost never strikes out and seldom swings and misses, combining his contact skills with an advanced approach that points toward becoming at least an above-average hitter in the future. Utilizing an upright stance and a simple swing, he works counts and makes good swing decisions. There hasn’t been a ton of pop yet, but there is some belief he could grow into 15-homer power in the future.
While he’s not a burner, Kuroda-Grauer does run well and can steal some bases. Because of his above-average hands and actions to go along with a good internal clock, he has the chance to stick at shortstop, even though he has an arm that is just average. He could be a plus defender at second base should a move be necessary, but it’s those bat-to-ball attributes the A’s will be banking to carry him to the big leagues.
Brady Basso, LHP
Expected level: AAA | Age 27
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
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40
There was a point earlier in his career when Basso was hitting 98 mph with his fastball. Nowadays, he tops out around 94 with the heater to go along with a wipeout curveball in the mid-70s, cutter in the mid-80s that generates ground balls and swing-and-miss and a changeup that continues to improve. That gives him a solid lefty starter mix.
Basso is mechanically sound on the mound with good control, which is evident by his low walk totals. Now on the 40-man roster, he will look to stay healthy and potentially earn a chance to appear in the A’s starting rotation at some point this season.
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.
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