Does #8 await the next great?
Despite just a two-vote difference this morning between him and Henry Bolte, Athletics Nation put all their weight behind starting pitcher Mason Barnett in the final hours of the poll and bestowed him with the seventh spot in the Community Prospect List.
Acquired just six months ago as the centerpiece of the Lucas Erceg trade, the 24-year-old righty is a former third-round pick who performed up to his billing in the Kansas City Royals’ farm system. He’s now close to surpassing that billing after taking a leap forward in his A’s organizational debut. In his seven starts with Double-A Midland, Barnett his strikeout rate tick up to a terrific 31.1% and his walk rate dip down to a healthy 7.8%, adding up to a 2.61 ERA/3.24 FIP across 41 1⁄3 innings.
His best pitches are a strong four-seam fastball that tops out at 99 mph and a biting mid-80s slider that he’s been using more as he moves up the minor league ladder. Heading into 2025, he may get a shot at opening the season at Triple-A if there’s room in the rotation, but it may be tough with guys like Gunnar Hoglund and Blake Beers ahead of him plus some more major league overflow than previous seasons. Nevertheless, as pitching injuries inevitably take their toll at all levels, Barnett may find himself moving up quickly and potentially making his major league debut later this season.
Winning the nomination vote in another photo-finish is the highly underrated Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang. Unranked by both MLB Pipeline and Fangraphs, the Taiwanese righty has done nothing but deal since coming stateside. Though his lack of experience may give prospect evaluators some holdup, the A’s don’t seem to care much as they’ve already advanced him to Double-A to be Barnett’s rotation mate with less than 130 professional innings under his belt. Athletics Nation clearly likes him as well; let’s see how much.
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, SP
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:
Tommy White, 3B
Expected level: A+ | Age 21
2019 stats (A): 107 PA, .224/.303/.299, 2 doubles, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 9 BB, 21 K, 0 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 50
White generates huge right-handed power to all fields with strength, bat speed and an uncanny ability to barrel balls. Known more for his slugging, he’s underrated as a hitter who makes repeated contact with impressive exit velocities. Though he’s overly aggressive and regularly expands his strike zone, he rarely swings and misses.
As a well-below-average runner with average arm strength, White provides limited value on the bases and in the field. Mostly a DH as a freshman, he primarily played third base after that and likely will wind up at first base in pro ball. He lacks range and is erratic at the hot corner, though he earns praise for gritting through the 2023 season and filling a team need despite his bad shoulder.
Henry Bolte, OF
Expected level: Double-A | Age 21
2024 stats (A+): 318 PA, .278/.393/.519, 19 doubles, 11 HR, 52 RBI, 41 BB, 101 K, 28 SB
2024 stats (AA): 227 PA, .252/.332/.396, 13 doubles, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 20 BB, 88 K, 18 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 65 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45
The eye-popping raw power Bolte showed during batting practice at the Oakland Coliseum shortly after signing his pro contract has quickly appeared in the Minors. As with most young players, his overall offensive approach is still being refined. There is still some swing-and-miss he needs to cut down on, particularly on offspeed stuff out of the zone, though he did show signs of improvement as his first full year went along.
Bolte’s near-elite speed was on display as he swiped 32 bags. The run tool also helps on defense, which along with a strong arm, makes him a solid defender at all three outfield spots. The five-tool skillset gives him a very high ceiling as he looks to continue advancing levels.
Jack Perkins, RHP
Expected level: Double-A | Age 25
2024 stats (AA): 2.96 ERA, 76 IP, 100 K, 35 BB, 2 HR, 2.74 FIP
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
Perkins features a hard riding fastball in the 94-97 mph range. He has gained a good feel for both his breaking ball that can miss some bats and a newly developed changeup implemented this past season, while his cutter tops out around 91 mph and gives hitters a different look.
Perkins still walks his fair share of batters as he continues to work on his command. Refining that aspect could lead to another big jump in 2024 with potential to evolve into a solid back-of-the-rotation piece. Invited to his first big league Spring Training, a lat strain early in camp slowed him, though the A’s are not too concerned about the injury.
Gunnar Hoglund, SP
Expected level: Triple-A | Age 24
2024 stats (AA): 2.84 ERA, 104 2⁄3 IP, 97 K, 27 BB, 12 HR, 4.02 FIP
2024 stats (AAA): 5.88 ERA, 26 IP, 22 K, 10 BB, 5 HR, 5.91 FIP
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 60 | Overall: 45
There was a thought that Hoglund came to the A’s with arguably the best pure stuff of any pitcher in the organization. Since then, he has yet to regain the fastball velocity that sat around 95-96 mph pre-surgery, topping out at 92-93 last season. His repertoire also includes a slider around 83-84 mph as his main secondary pitch, while his low-80s changeup and curveball provide different looks against hitters.
The A’s still have hope for Hoglund to develop into a quality Major League starter, mainly for his ability to consistently throw strikes. Entering his second year removed from Tommy John, the A’s will wait and see whether his velocity can get back to where it was, which could help accelerate his path this season.
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 offspeeds, 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 midrotation starter and should be able to move up the remaining levels quickly if health allows.
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