Oakland A's Preseason 2023 Top 50 Prospects

To begin my coverage of the A’s minor league affiliates in the 2023 season, here is my preseason organizational Top 50 Prospects List. The position player and pitcher databases, which have notes on all full-season prospect-eligible A’s minor leaguers, will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect early-season changes as well.

These rankings are primarily based on my observations watching a ton of A’s minor league games on milb.tv over the past two seasons (and, of course, the actual production the players have had). As such, consider my rankings of players new to the organization (2022 draftees and offseason trade acquisitions) to be more tentative than those of the other players–I did some research and video evaluation of those players as well, but I don’t have nearly the amount of experience evaluating them as I do with the longtime Oakland farmhands.

A couple of stylistic/formatting notes: with the midseason ranks, “N/A” means that the player was not eligible for an A’s prospect list at midseason last year (i.e., he was acquired July 2022 or later), while “NR” means the player was in the organization at that time but did not make my 2022 midseason Top 50. Also, I did not consider Kyle Muller (46 MLB service days entering 2023, one more than the rookie eligibility threshold) or Shintaro Fujinami “prospects” for this list, even though other lists have sometimes included them.

#1. ) Tyler Soderstrom, C/1B

‘22 Midseason Rank: 2

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas

Still just 21, Soderstrom starts his third full professional season on the doorstep of the big leagues and as the Oakland organization’s undisputed top prospect. His violent swing is geared for launch but keeps the barrel in the zone for a long time, and he’s adept at using the whole field both to rip liners and lift homers. Defensively, he’s come a long way over the past year and projects to be near average behind the plate, though he’s still got work to do in controlling the running game, and it’s an open question what the A’s will do when it comes time to get Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers in the same lineup (a better athlete than most backstops, there’s a chance Soderstrom could play somewhere other than catcher or first, though the organization has yet to try him anywhere else). The remaining question for Soderstrom–who likely will hit well in Vegas’ pinball environment regardless–is the consistency of his approach at the plate. His pitch recognition skills are fine, but he tended to get overaggressive when ahead in the count last season, often swinging at 2-0 fastballs and changeups well outside of the strike zone. He’ll need to curb that if he’s going to be a true middle-of-the-order presence, but he’s got plenty of time and no obvious reasons why it can’t happen. His bounceback from a rough start to 2022 in the Lansing cold–not to mention his surprising defensive improvement after a very rough 2021–also speaks well to his ability to adjust. Soderstrom has All-Star upside.

#2.) Ken Waldichuk, LHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Oakland

We’re all familiar with Waldichuk by now, as the big lefty made seven starts with the big club down the stretch last season, across which he compiled a 33/10 K/BB. Waldichuk has a deep arsenal, and his funky delivery provides both some deception and huge extension. His 91-97 mph fastball, big, sweeping slider, and diving change are all strong pitches, and if everything goes well, Waldichuk should basically be Sean Manaea with three additional ticks on his heater. Paramount to his ascending to a Manaea-level role or better on the A’s staff will be improvements in Waldichuk’s pitch efficiency, as he averaged over four pitches per plate appearance in his MLB debut, but it’s certainly possible that he solves that issue as he settles into the big leagues over the next two seasons. If he does, he’ll be a huge part of the Oakland rotation moving forward.

#3.) Zack Gelof, 2B

‘22 Midseason Rank: 3

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas (IL)

It wasn’t necessarily the smoothest full-season debut for Gelof last year, as he missed several weeks with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder and had a few strikeout-heavy stretches when he was healthy, but focusing on those elements obscures the broader picture: this guy reached Triple-A barely a year after being drafted and promptly swatted five homers in nine games there. Along the way, Gelof moved from his college position of third base over to second, where he showed above-average range and a solid arm, giving him a clear defensive home to go with his strong offensive skill. His plate discipline and power really came on in the second half as he adjusted to upper-minors pitching, quelling some doubts that he was overly reliant on high BABIP figures. There are a few paths his offensive skillset could take from here: he could lean into flyball tendencies more and opt to work toward more of a Brian Dozier profile, or he could remain more focused on stinging doubles into the gaps and settling for 15-homer production. Either way, he looks the part of a solid everyday player on both sides of the ball, and could be ready quickly.

#4.) Mason Miller, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 35

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Well, there’s a jump. Between the midseason list last year and now, Miller and his seemingly mythical triple-digit fastball got healthy, and he quickly breezed up to Las Vegas in his first full season before an excellent run of starts in the AFL.

It’s not just that Miller’s fastball may well be the best in the system, sitting 98-101 in his abbreviated outings last season as he muscled it through the zone at will. It’s that his biting slider may well also be the best breaking ball in the system, and it may even dwarf the fastball–which doesn’t seem to have elite bat-missing shape–in effectiveness.

Having Miller get on professional mounds for 30 innings, unleash that hellacious duo of pitches, and get strong results certainly does a lot to clarify where he stands relative to last July, but there still is a lot of uncertainty about what direction his career heads from here. Pitchers who throw this hard can run into health concerns, which already have been a presence in his pro career, but he’s also almost 25 and could probably get big-league outs right now in the bullpen. Miller has a changeup, and it looked decent the few times he threw it last year, but it wasn’t necessary for him to turn to frequently in those abbreviated three-inning starts, and it’s unclear how precise his command will turn out to be as well. However, he flashed a 95-mph cutter in the spring that went viral with how foolish it made Sam Haggerty look, adding yet another weapon to a mix that may well prove to be one of the most potent in professional baseball.

#5.) Darell Hernaiz, INF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

The fact that the A’s surrendered both MLB starter Cole Irvin and MiLB strikeout leader Kyle Virbitsky (#27 on my midseason top 50 last year) for Hernaiz certainly is an indicator that they value the young infielder highly, and from a performance standpoint, you can certainly see why. Hernaiz reached Double-A right around his 21st birthday, on the back of a strong season across the Orioles’ A-ball affiliates, which are not easy places to hit. Hernaiz’s offensive game is quite balanced, with his simple swing allowing him to hit for average, but he also came into solid power last year and went 33-for-37 on the bases. He’s also reputed to be a playable shortstop who will at least play above-average defense at second or third base. Hernaiz’s detractors see his balanced profile as most likely to lead to a future as a solid utility player, but this is also the skillset Marcus Semien had when the A’s acquired him; sometimes players with strong fundamentals like this can really outperform perceptions of their ceilings.

#6.) Esteury Ruíz, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Oakland

Maybe it’s just me, and I know the environments Ruíz played in last year were extremely friendly to hitters, but I’m kind of astonished how little excitement there was for the A’s getting Ruíz in the Sean Murphy trade–the dude hit .332/.447/.526 in the upper minors at age 23, with 85–count ‘em, eighty-five–stolen bases, along with 102 errorless games in the outfield despite only having moved there from second base the year prior. Detractors, however, point to Ruíz’s well-below-average exit velocity data, which don’t square at all with his amassing of extra-base hits. Still, it’s not as though 2022 was a total power aberration for Ruíz–it was his third career double-digit homer season–and he has the speed, defense, and contact ability to potentially emerge as a Brett Gardner type of player even if he doesn’t clear a ton of fences.

#7.) Max Muncy, INF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 5

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

The A’s challenged Muncy, who was hitting .230/.352/.447–a 106 wRC+–in Stockton, with a midseason promotion to Lansing, where the teenage shortstop started off hot, then slumped somewhat, failing to homer in his last 28 games and striking out 31.6% of the time at the higher level. Still, he held his own there, hitting .226/.305/.375 as one of the league’s youngest players and going 13-for-14 in steals. The book on Muncy has long been that he’s a talented player who has some work to do on the hit-tool side of things, and though his performance backs up those concerns to an extent, he has a solid approach and a workable swing that’s geared for balanced, all-fields contact while still allowing for plenty of lift. More than anything–and this is a theme running through a lot of the top young hitters in the system–he just needs more reps and PA-to-PA consistency. Muncy isn’t Nick Allen defensively, but he’s a playable shortstop with a good arm. He should get an opportunity to slow things down a little more in his return to the Midwest League, and he remains a potentially solid everyday player a few years down the line.

#8.) Denzel Clarke, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 10

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Clarke’s reputation when he was drafted was that he’d wow you with tools but struggle to actualize them in game action until he got significantly more experienced, and thankfully for the A’s, the first part of that proved to be more true than the second in his first full season. Clarke brings elite athleticism to the table as the rare 6’5” player with 80-grade run times, and his huge raw power resulted in a .221 ISO in his first full season despite it not being close to fully actualized yet. Clarke has some work to do to clean up his defense in center, but he should stay at that position and could evolve into an above-average defender, and he shows a solid approach at the plate already. He dominated Stockton last year and was a league-average hitter in Lansing despite his rawness, so the concern that he would need dramatic overhauls to succeed as a pro proved unfounded.

However, Clarke did run a 29% strikeout rate in Low-A and a 36.2% rate in High-A, and it’s that number that needs to come down if he’s going to fully shed the raw label and emerge as a truly titanic talent. There’s some reason for optimism there: his approach at the plate is fine, he’s still fairly low on experience, and the main culprit behind the strikeout issues seemed to be Clarke getting his weight out front too early and looping under fastballs and in front of offspeeds. There’s a real chance Clarke–a known tinkerer and hard worker who changed his setup at the plate several times last year–is able to find a more comfortable stride that balances his weight better and significantly curtails those issues, though his long levers likely will lead to at least moderately high swing-and-miss tendencies regardless. Still, if Clarke ever can get the strikeouts down into the Aaron Judge range, his skillset offers similarly rare potential. It’s obviously highly unlikely Clarke can reach Judge’s level (if it wasn’t, he shouldn’t be eighth here!), but if you made a short list of the players in the minor leagues who had any remote chance of getting there, he’d be on it. Needless to say, there are plenty of outcomes for Clarke that are more likely but still exciting to envision.

#9.) Freddy Tarnok, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Oakland (IL)

One of the key players in the Sean Murphy trade, Tarnok fits a mold the A’s favor in trades: a young, big-league-ready pitcher with a strong, diverse arsenal. Tarnok’s carrying 95-97 mph fastball and his freezing mid-80s changeup are a strong foundation of his arsenal, with his quality overhand curve and shorter slider serving as a duo of tertiary offerings. He’s racked up strikeouts at every stop he’s made since the minors resumed play in 2021, he pitched well down the stretch with Atlanta’s AAA affiliate, and he’ll be 24 all season, ready or near-ready to take on big-league hitters once he returns from a shoulder injury that’s kept him sidelined so far. The question with Tarnok going forward is how his abrupt, vertical arm action might affect his ability to start; some evaluators note it’s a more relief-oriented look, and Tarnok’s walk numbers, while passable in his career, have hardly been excellent enough to completely write off any concerns. He’d likely make for quite an effective reliever if moved to that role, but for now, it makes sense to see if the command will hold up well enough to make the four-pitch mix work as a starter. His arsenal is strong and deep enough to still give real hope that Tarnok can make an impact in the latter role.

#10.) Gunnar Hoglund, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 6

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton (IL)

There’s not much new to say on Hoglund, who spent most of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery, only to be precautionarily shut down after his first full-season start with biceps tightness. 2023 will hopefully lend a lot more clarity to Hoglund’s outlook; he was billed as likely to move quickly once healthy, with a quality balanced pitch mix and advanced command. He’ll still likely be handled cautiously in what essentially amounts to his first pro season, but Hoglund remains a potential breakout candidate. The A’s are hoping to get Hoglund back on a pro mound in May, at which point we should finally begin to understand where his development stands.

#11.) Lawrence Butler, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 16

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

It’s easy to forget now, but when minor league play resumed in 2021, Butler was already almost three years removed from being drafted (6th round, 2018), and he was a career .195/.299/.302 hitter who had struck out 38.6% of the time, stolen four bases in 101 career games, and was seen as mostly a first baseman defensively. In other words, he was about as far off the radar as a 20-year-old former 6th-rounder can be.

What a difference two years makes. Butler has now brought his power–the main reason he was drafted so high–into games, and he emerged from the 2020 layoff as a plus runner who started to get more and more outfield time, even some in center field. Over the past two years, he’s hit .263/.364/.499 in Stockton and .280/.362/.478 in Lansing, the latter number despite enduring a brutal slump in the MWL cold to open the 2022 season. Butler still strikes out a fair amount, but an adjustment with his load in June of last year improved his timing; he struck out just 27% of the time and hit .321/.384/.584 thereafter. He’s always had a good sense of the strike zone and his lofted swing is capable of producing tape-measure blasts. His outfield defense looked quite rough in 2021 and early 2022, but he has a good arm and made some strides with his reads and routes as last season progressed, enough to more clearly make right field his long-term defensive destination. Butler will have to prove he can handle the jump to the upper minors, but the organization was justified in its decision to add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason. Butler is still just 22 and continues to make exciting progress, especially as he was the talk of major league camp this spring.

#12.) Daniel Susac, C

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

Oakland’s most recent first-rounder was widely viewed as a steal at pick #19, with Susac drawing praise for his rare combination of hand-eye coordination, power, and the ability to remain at the catcher position. He was fine, if unspectacular, down the stretch with Stockton after signing. The knock on Susac has long been his plate discipline: he offers at a very high volume of pitches, perhaps largely because he displayed a knack for barrelling out-of-zone stuff in college. To what extent that will be an issue–and to what extent Susac can adjust if it is–remains in question. Susac is known for his plus arm, though he’s got a massive frame for a catcher and will need to make sure he retains good flexibility to continue to work on his blocking and framing skills. Susac clearly has starting catcher upside if everything comes together and could offer an impact bat for the position, though he also comes with some risk because of how aggressive his approach is.

#13.) J.T. Ginn, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 11

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Ginn is one of several well-known A’s pitching prospects who struggled with injuries in 2022, with multiple stays on the injured list. He got a steady diet of groundouts when he was healthy and mixed in decent strikeout ability, though he was hit around a fair amount in Midland before a nice turn in the AFL. Ginn works heavily off his sinker, which sits 93-95 at its best but was more 91-94 in some of his outings last season. The pitch enters the zone with great downward plane from the athletic righty’s fairly high arm slot. His secondary pitches, a tight slider and sinking changeup, both showed flashes but also were quite inconsistent outing to outing. If he can stay healthy, Ginn’s combination of groundball ability and solid command give him a high, back-of-the-rotation floor, and he also has been more electric at various times in his career, but 2022 wasn’t the first year the Tommy John survivor ran into health trouble, so holding up for a full season would both be encouraging and allow Ginn’s talent more opportunities to blossom.

#14.) Brett Harris, 3B

‘22 Midseason Rank: 13

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Seen as a low-upside seventh-rounder when he was drafted in 2021 as a 23-year-old fifth-year senior, Harris had a breakout year in his first full season, getting to Midland very quickly and continuing to hit well there. He’s a premium defender at third base who can also play a passable second, his simple swing doesn’t miss fastballs, he has a solid batting eye, and the long-levered swinger came into more power than he had showed in college. He’s still somewhat vulnerable to spin, and there’s always some risk that players like Harris, who are solid across the board but without any monster talents at the plate, end up just a touch shy of being impactful hitters (for an obvious example, see Jonah Bride’s debut season last year, not that I’m writing Bride off yet). On the flip side, though, as Melissa Lockard noted in her A’s Top 20 Prospects, Harris’ skillset and growth also give off a strong late-bloomer vibe, where he could emerge as an impactful everyday player despite never cracking an organizational top 10 on his way up.

#15.) Luis Medina, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas

A former top 100 prospect and longtime notable name in the Yankees system, Medina was part of the Montas/Trivino trade return in July. After having a season and a half of solid pitching with New York’s Double-A affiliate, Medina’s command abandoned him in Midland down the stretch–hardly a new phenomenon for the flamethrower, who has had several stretches where he’s had massive walk troubles. Said to have maxed out at 103 mph in his Yankees days, Medina sat mostly 94-97 mph with his fastball after the trade, with a few 98s mixed in, and he showed a shapely curveball that he struggled to command and a decent power changeup. Long thought to be destined for the bullpen, Medina certainly has the raw stuff to be effective there if his command allows.

#16.) Ryan Cusick, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 8

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Between injuries and ineffectiveness, 2022 was basically a lost year for Cusick, though his middling stint in the AFL did at least get him over the 60-inning mark in his first year in the A’s organization. Still, the stuff that got him picked in the first round in 2021 did show up, as he sat 94-97 mph with his backspinning heater and showed a quality tilting slider in the mid-80s. They missed bats, too, but Cusick’s inconsistent command and lack of a credible changeup–he has one, but it was essentially a new pitch in pro ball, and he has yet to develop much feel for it–made him quite predictable for upper-minors hitters, who were often able to line his power stuff the opposite way for base hits. Relief–even of the high-leverage variety–is obviously a realistic fallback for Cusick, who’s been said to be able to reach triple digits in short stints, but if he’s going to start, he needs a third pitch. I’ve compared Cusick’s stuff and trajectory to Frankie Montas–who famously searched for a third pitch for over a half-decade before finding his splitter–in the past, and that still stands, but just because Montas’ career underwent a transformation doesn’t mean Cusick’s will.

#17.) Pedro Pineda, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 7

Opening Day Assignment: Extended Spring

Stories like Butler’s are why I’m retaining hope for Pineda, who is only a year removed from being considered a top 5 prospect in the system. All that’s really happened since then is a rough 42-game stint in Stockton, where the toolsy outfielder struck out 45% of the time, though he still worked some walks, flashed some power, and played a decent, high-energy center field. As troubling as the strikeout issues are, I didn’t come away from watching Pineda with the impression that he was hopelessly lost at the plate, more that he just needs a bit more time to fully dial in his approach. He didn’t get a chance to do that in the second half last year, missing the rest of the year with what was reportedly a shoulder issue, but he’s still just 19 and has plenty of time to get things moving in the right direction.

#18.) Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 14

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton (IL)

There’s no real update on Zhuang, since he missed the second half of the season with shoulder trouble. He remains an exciting young starter who reached 96 with his carrying fastball and showed one of the best changeups in the system immediately after coming over from Taiwan, with advanced command to boot. Breaking ball consistency is a work in progress here, and the health troubles obviously are not a welcome note for a young pitcher, but Zhuang remains one of the most underrated prospects in the system. He’s a breakout candidate in 2023 if his health allows.

#19.) Royber Salinas, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

A big, bulky righty with imposing mound presence, Salinas racked up a ton of strikeouts in the low minors with his mid-90s fastball and tight, vertical curve. His changeup has nice late dive and could develop into a third strong weapon, but Salinas has been held back by his fairly crude, spray-command approach to pitching. He’s not afraid to challenge hitters with heat, but he can rush his delivery and fall out of sync at times, resulting in walks and inefficiency. Most evaluators seem to have Salinas projected to the bullpen as a result, but he could be an impact arm there. He’s only just now turning 22, so he has some time to refine his approach and mechanics to try to stick in the rotation for now.

#20.) Henry Bolte, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Extended Spring

I might as well be throwing darts here; Bolte hasn’t played meaningful professional games yet, so there’s not much for me to go on. I’ve seen Bolte anywhere from top 10 to the 30s on A’s lists, and so I’m basically just shrugging and splitting the difference. The team’s second-rounder last year, he has electric tools but was viewed as a project who will need a lot of work on the contact front. The A’s have had some success with developing high-strikeout outfielders recently (Clarke, Butler, Junior Pérez), though other swings at high-upside players haven’t panned out as well for the club. Bolte is essentially untested in pro ball, but the A’s are reportedly already hard at work with his hitting mechanics. Whenever he gets to Stockton, we’ll learn a lot more about how much progress Bolte has been able to make, at which point he could explode onto the scene.

#21.) Clark Elliott, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton

After picking Susac and Bolte with their first two picks last year, the A’s took a bit less of a home run swing for Elliott, a more polished college hitter who nevertheless enjoyed a breakout junior season at Michigan, where he posted a 1.090 OPS. He only played in one pro game and then got hurt, so I have no idea how he’s looked as a pro, but Elliott is reputed as a solid outfield defender with good on-base chops from the left side. Those are the sorts of skills that are so key for bench outfielders, but if Elliott’s power breakout last year is for real, he could be more than that.

#22.) Colby Thomas, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton

Thomas was the A’s next pick, coming in the third round last season, and he didn’t play at all after signing but is healthy to start the year. He’s thought to be more of a pure corner outfielder than Bolte or Elliott, but he had cartoonish power numbers in college and made dramatic improvements to what was formerly a fairly rough approach at the plate. Like Clarke the year before, Thomas was often mentioned as a rare-upside steal at his draft spot. He’s not as tooled up as Clarke–who is?–but like Elliott, if the junior-year breakout is for real, there might be an impact bat here.

#23.) Euribiel Ángeles, INF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 20

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

Ángeles heads back to the Midwest League to open the season, a league he first reached in late 2021 while still in the Padres system, yet he’s still just 20 years old and a career .276 hitter at the level. True to that number, his best skill is his bat-to-ball ability, as Ángeles has preternatural hand-eye coordination that allows him to adjust the barrel all over the place, especially on pitches up–he has an uncanny knack for barreling neck-high fastballs. He’s also a solid defensive shortstop with plus hands and an advanced internal clock. There’s some latent power in Ángeles’ swing, though not a ton, but he struggled last year to get to it, largely due to an overaggressive approach. He altered his setup at the plate a few different times throughout 2022, especially during a midseason slump, but he was making progress on working the count toward the end of the year. If that progress continues in 2023, Ángeles should soon move up to Midland. If he can unlock a bit of power and patience, he could be a middle infield regular.

#24.) Jordan Díaz, 1B/2B

‘22 Midseason Rank: 25

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas

I am bumping Díaz up a spot on my list relative to midseason–which is more of an endorsement than it appears, given the influx of new talent into the system–but this likely remains one of the lowest placements you’ll see for the Colombian slugger, who sped to the big leagues last year shortly after his 22nd birthday. His strengths remain the same: his elite bat-to-ball ability and short swing mean he rarely strikes out, stings line drives all over the field, and brings his plus raw power into games with reasonable frequency. That last one didn’t show up in his brief 15-game audition with the A’s, but the first two skills already did, and he was dominant offensively in the upper minors before his callup. Still, his weaknesses remain the same as well: he sees very few pitches, has no defensive position, and hits the ball on the ground way too frequently to suggest he’ll be a true cleanup type. I struggle to find 1B/DH types in the past decade who were consistent 2+ WAR producers with Díaz’s typical 5%ish walk rates, and the persistent ground balls don’t lend a lot of hope to the idea he’ll slug enough to offset them and reach the sort of overall impact his hit tool might hint he is capable of delivering.

Since he’s been on the prospect map for so long, it’s easy to forget Díaz is still just 22, so there’s time for him to improve one or more of these weak areas, though his skillset has remained remarkably similar, for better or worse, for his entire career thus far. It’s a unique profile that will be very interesting to follow, because there are possible career paths from here that could render Díaz something of a statistical unicorn and cult hero.

#25.) Joey Estes, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 12

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

The fourth guy in the Matt Olson trade, Estes came to the A’s organization coming off a dominant Low-A campaign, but things didn’t go quite as smoothly in his new digs, as he turned in a merely okay season in Lansing. He touched 98 mph, but mostly sat 92-94, albeit with an appealing combination of carry and run that makes the fastball a plus pitch. Estes comes right at hitters with high heat and a grip-and-rip approach. His secondaries–a rolling slider and a diving changeup–are presently inconsistent and trail the fastball in quality considerably. The changeup has a lot more potential, but Estes’ feel for it comes and goes, and the slider usually lacks sharpness and can back up on him. A second breaking ball–a cutter or a curve–might really help Estes unlock more possibilities. His approach seems conducive to the bullpen, where he could see a velocity boost, but he does throw strikes, so if his arsenal depth improves, a mid-rotation role is still possible.

#26.) Hogan Harris, LHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 30

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas

One of the biggest bright spots in the A’s system last year was Harris, a former 3rd-round pick who finally got healthy after years of injuries and zoomed across three levels up to Vegas and onto the 40-man roster. A fairly unique pitcher, Harris is a possible answer to a question nobody has ever asked: “What would Alex Claudio look like if he threw overhand and 10 mph harder?” His fastball reached 97 mph last year with strong carry up in the zone, and hitters couldn’t stay back on his odd, freezing changeup, which typically arrives all the way down in the 76-79 mph range. Harris tends to slow his arm down on both that pitch and his bloopy low-70s curve, but he hides those differences with his cross-body stride direction. He started working in a hard, upper-80s slider late in the season to try to give him something that played better to lefties and could sit somewhere in the giant gap between the velocities of the heater and the other offspeeds, and it showed some promise but still needs polish. Kept to strict pitch counts throughout the season given his multi-year layoff, Harris also struggled with pitch efficiency and will have to prove he can be more consistent with his command, especially from the stretch. The arsenal depth still might be enough to start if health and command allow, but Harris’ uniqueness also might play up in short relief.

#27.) Jorge Juan, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 23

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

After missing about a year with an unlucky combination of injuries, during which he was added and then removed from the A’s 40-man roster, the gargantuan 6’9” Juan finally reemerged in late July and was able to get 20 innings in, mostly in Lansing, where he was fairly effective. His velocity wasn’t quite at its 2022 peak in the upper 90s, but he still sat in the 93-96 mph range while his impactful power curve topped out in the low 80s. Juan’s size and spotty command history point toward a likely bullpen future, but he shows signs of getting his simple drop-and-drive delivery to be more consistent, and his changeup occasionally shows plus dive, so the tools to be a starting pitcher, and perhaps an impactful one, are still there. Juan is already 24 and still shy of fifty career full-season innings, so the biggest need for him right now is experience.

#28.) Luis Morales, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Extended Spring

The headline prospect among the A’s ‘22 international signing class, Morales is the latest in a fairly long line of high-profile Cuban amateurs the A’s have signed in the past decade, with Yoenis Cespedes and Lazaro Armenteros being the two most notable names. Morales is a flamethrowing 20-year-old who sits in the mid-90s and flashes a hard slurvy breaking ball that shows promise, but he’s also got some work to do in tightening up his command, which will be a focal point of his development as he adjusts to minor league baseball this year. Skillwise, he’s similar to Juan in a lot of ways, but is obviously much earlier on his developmental path. Like Juan, Morales has significant upside, but he’ll have to prove he can throw enough strikes and stay healthy enough to start.

#29.) Grant Holman, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 21

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing (IL)

The sinkerballing Holman missed three months with shoulder trouble in the middle of 2022, but the 2021 sixth-rounder was fairly effective when he was healthy. His heavy fastball proved very difficult for hitters to lift, and the former amateur two-way star threw more strikes than may have been expected. He already has three offspeed pitches–a slider, split, and curve–though none of them are average at present, and he’s going to need them to take steps forward if he’s going to carry average or better strikeout rates in the upper minors. Still, the fastball alone has a very strong combination of velocity and downward plane, and Holman is early enough in his career that there’s still ample time to add more strengths.

#30.) Garrett Acton, RHRP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 17

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas

Acton ran into moderate trouble in Vegas in the second half of last year, but it’s not surprising his high-heat approach resulted in a few longballs in the pinball PCL atmosphere. Still, he consistently sat 94-97 with solid late life and continued to deploy a good slider and changeup, the latter of which he probably should use more. All three pitches continued to miss bats with the Aviators, as they all play up from Acton’s sudden, explosive delivery. The effort in that motion has caused command issues from time to time, but he generally threw strikes at the minors’ highest level. Known for his strong work ethic, Acton should be one of the first relievers in line to get a look in Oakland as the season progresses, and he has a chance to be a high-leverage bullpen arm.

#31.) Junior Pérez, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 36

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

Acquired from the Padres in 2020 fresh off a dominant, exciting ACL season, Pérez spent his first season and a half struggling with strikeouts in Stockton, whiffing about 37% of the time in both 2021 and the opening portion of 2022. His long, rotational swing left him with an extreme pull-heavy approach and with vulnerabilities all over the zone, leaving the five-tool athlete struggling to stay far above the Mendoza Line. Then, in mid-June, the A’s moved Pérez’s hands up a couple of inches in his setup, which immediately got his swing a lot more flexible: he struck out just 26% of the time and hit .249/.397/.467 the rest of the way, piling up walks, extra-base hits, and steals. Pérez is going to at least be a plus right fielder with a plus arm, and he’s got a shot to play a decent center, so the speed and defense are there. The question now is whether he can take another step or two at the plate: he still got a little inconsistent with his setup late in the season and still has some work to do in using the whole field. He doesn’t expand the zone very much, though, and he’s a wiry-strong athlete with solid power, so there are a ton of skills ready to go here. If Pérez can make further headway in the first half of 2023, you’re going to see a lot more evaluators take notice.

#32.) Ryan Noda, 1B

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Oakland

Oakland’s Rule 5 pick this year from the Dodgers organization, Noda is a longtime statistical performer and the owner of a career .407 minor league OBP; he’s also topped the 25-HR mark in consecutive seasons, the last in Triple-A. He’s got a strong defensive reputation at first base and has corner outfield experience in the past, and he even swiped 20 bases in 24 attempts last season, so he’s not the stereotypical baseclogging first baseman. Still, the reason he was left unprotected (admittedly, in a very deep Dodgers organization, but still) was that he strikes out a lot, and his Triple-A Statcast data last year didn’t reflect particularly well on his ability to hit fastballs. Noda is 27 and basically a finished product, so he’s going to need to show he can catch up to velocity well enough to allow the rest of his skills to play.

#33.) Michael Guldberg, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 22

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Guldberg’s been hurt frequently and has particularly had some wrist trouble, which has been known to sap power for awhile; perhaps not coincidentally, he struggled through a homerless 2022 when he did play. He still makes a lot of contact, runs well, and plays a good center field, and he’s shown more pop in the past, so the hope is that the lack of pop was due more to the injury than trouble adjusting to the upper minors. Guldberg has the “injury-prone” label at this point and could really use a full season to show what he has in Midland and/or Vegas, but he still is tracking to be a useful bench outfielder. If health brings the power back into play, perhaps he could be a bit more than that.

#34.) Dheygler Gimenez, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: NR

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton

Gimenez emerged basically out of nowhere and turned some heads in the Stockton rotation in the second half of 2022, firing a high-spin fastball in the mid-90s that he snuck by hitters up in the zone with upward plane from his fairly low arm slot. He’s also got a huge curveball in the mid-70s that is perhaps a bit more fun than it is effective (adding a slider might be very helpful here), and he showed both some feel for a changeup and a sense of how to sequence his pitches and mess with timing. Gimenez is just 21 and has less than 100 pro innings, and there are still some raw, thrower-y elements to his game, but there are hints of strong potential across the board as well.

#35.) Max Schuemann, OF/INF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 18

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

It’s getting a little hard to know what to make of Schuemann, who has hit a stellar .303/.410/.428 across two seasons in Midland while going 40-for-47 on the bases and playing everywhere but first base and catcher. That’s an impressive all-around set of achievements, and indeed, Schuemann has a wide skill base, with above-average speed, some defensive feel wherever you put him, and a mix of patience and line-drive acumen at the plate, fueled by a short, simple swing that he nevertheless puts some force and effort behind. But he’s also nearly 26 and scuffled in a brief Las Vegas audition last year, struggling with strikeouts, especially on premium velocity up in the zone. Finding a way to impact the ball consistently at the minors’ highest level is going to be imperative for Schuemann this year, but if he can meet that challenge, he could become an excellent utility player in the big leagues.

#36.) Jacob Watters, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

The highest pitcher the A’s selected in the 2022 draft, the team’s fourth-rounder arrived in pro ball with the reputation of having a fastball-curve combination rare to find that late in the draft, with the heater exploding into the upper 90s and the hammer also bringing considerable velocity. They carved up Big 12 hitters when Watters located them, but that was an intermittent phenomenon, as he has trouble repeating his explosive, rotational delivery. He only made 12 college starts and thus hasn’t developed much of a third pitch, but the A’s intend to run Watters out as a starter for now, perhaps to get him more time to find some mechanical consistency. He’s thought to be likely to be a reliever due to the command struggles and an impact third offering, but the A’s have had some success getting pitchers like this to throw strikes (see Jorge Juan, 2021 or Blake Beers, 2022), so we’ll see if Watters can take steps in that direction in his first significant pro experience.

#37.) Yehizon Sanchez, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 45

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton

Sanchez had some wild ups and downs in Stockton’s inflated offensive atmosphere, posting an elevated ERA thanks to a massive total of home runs allowed. Believe it or not, he’s actually something of a groundball pitcher, with a heavy sinking fastball that sits around 94 from a ¾ arm slot. Sanchez’s long, sweeping slider flashes plus when he pushes it into the mid-80s, but he’s still working on keeping it consistently powerful, and he’s got a workable changeup that mirrors the action on his fastball. Sanchez is quite skinny and could stand to add more functional strength on the mound, which might help him repeat his slingy delivery better and execute more consistently. He projects as a reliever for now, though the three-pitch mix is balanced enough to give Sanchez starter potential if he gets more consistent with his execution.

#38.) Jack Perkins, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

Perkins was picked a round after Watters last year, and he’s got a fairly similar profile: a pitcher with strong stuff for his fifth-round slot who is often undermined by challenges throwing strikes. He sat in the mid-90s in college and paired his fastball with a solid, tight slider, and he utilizes a cutter rather than his infrequently-used changeup as a tertiary pitch. Perkins’ delivery was tweaked a few times in college, most notably with his stride direction, but he’s still searching for a motion that complements his abrupt, stabby arm action. A senior sign, he’ll need to move quickly, but he had a nice few games in Stockton after being drafted, with refreshingly few traces of his college command challenges.

#39.) Brennan Milone, INF/OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton

Like Díaz, Milone will be an interesting test case in the A’s long line of defensive conversion projects. He was seen as a pure hitter coming out of Oregon in the sixth round last year and had a good showing at the dish in Stockton after signing, but he played all over the corners in college without convincing many evaluators he had a position. Nevertheless, the A’s made the ambitious move to try the lanky, somewhat stiff-bodied defender exclusively at second base as a pro. It didn’t go great, so we’ll see how his glove is deployed and developed in 2023, but Milone has a nice all-around offensive package that could give him serious value if he can halt his defensive nomadism.

#40.) Conner Capel, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Oakland

Capel’s excellent spring–following a dominant end-of-season run with Vegas and Oakland last year after being claimed off waivers–got him onto his first career Opening Day roster. He doesn’t have the most exciting skillset–he hasn’t really played much center field and doesn’t have huge over-the-fence power–but he hits righthanded pitchers well and can contribute on the bases some. He looks to be a big-league platoon bat and occasional pinch-runner right now, and though he doesn’t project to be much more than that in the future, Capel’s status as a current big leaguer and established Triple-A performer gives him one of the highest floors among A’s position player prospects.

#41.) Logan Davidson, INF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 29

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

I’m not giving up on Davidson, who I think improved more from 2021 to 2022 than the stats indicate. He’s a playable shortstop who credibly switch-hits, he brought some game power to the Midland lineup last year, and he works the count. More than anything last year, the problem was that he ran wildly hot and cold, he had OPS figures of .867 higher in three months and .667 or below in the other three. It’s becoming harder and harder to envision the former first-rounder as an everyday MLB fixture because of that inconsistency, but Davidson’s wide base of talents gives him a better shot to be a strong bench infielder than you’d think given his career statline.

#42.) Blake Beers, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 26

Opening Day Assignment: Lansing

Beers was one of the system’s surprise stories in the first half of 2022, breaking out in the Stockton rotation after being picked in the 19th round the year previous. Beers struggled as a college reliever but simplified his mechanics and has thrown a lot more strikes as a pro, and his big, sweeping slider allowed him to dominate Cal League hitters once his command got in line. He ran into more trouble in the second half after a promotion to Lansing, though, as the lack of depth and power in his arsenal got a bit more exposed. Neither his 90-94 mph fastball nor the 78-83 mph slider quite have the velocity to just muscle by batters, especially since Beers tends to throw both very high in the zone, struggling to change hitters’ eye levels. His changeup has made strides but remains inconsistent, and he basically eliminated his curve–inferior to the slider, but maybe a pitch that could help him access the lower third better–after moving up a level. Still, it’s a promising fastball-slider combination, and it could play up in relief if Beers ultimately ends up in that role. Beers is still something of a longshot to stick as a starter, but he’s already been much better than expected; another couple of improvements in velocity or arsenal depth could catapult him into that conversation.

#43.) Jefferson Jean, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: NR

Opening Day Assignment: Extended Spring

Jean has all of 7 ⅓ pro innings to his name, all in the DSL, but the 18-year-old righthander has upper-90s heat and was certainly the name who seemed to be generating buzz among the group of DSL A’s hurlers this past year. Those 7 ⅓ innings went relatively well, for what it’s worth, and the fastball looks to get on hitters very quickly. Video of Jean does show him to be a high-effort thrower with a very long arm action, so we’ll need to see Jean throw strikes stateside before we can get too excited about his potential. He’ll also, like most teenage power arms, need to come up with effective secondary pitches to complement the heat. Still, having one of the system’s best fastballs at such a young age is certainly a nice starting point.

#44.) Brayan Buelvas, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: 24

Opening Day Assignment: Stockton

It’s been quite a fall over the past couple of seasons from Buelvas, who burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old in 2019 with a .300/.393/.506 line in the then-AZL, but has followed that up with disappointingly low-batting-average performances since play resumed in 2021, hitting .219 with Stockton that year before slumping to a .195 clip with Lansing last season. When he was seen as one of the system’s brightest prospects, Buelvas was regarded as a player who was solid across the board, sort of like Ramon Laureano minus the ridiculous arm strength. Fortunately, it’s not as though that broad skill base has evaporated, as Buelvas’ low averages have not actually been the result of enormous strikeout totals, he’s still managed to get to power in games despite his small frame, and he remains an above-average baserunner and outfielder–perhaps just fringe-average in center, but plus in the corners. The problem has more been on the approach side, where Buelvas gets behind in counts too frequently and employs more of a pull/flyball approach than a player with his skillset probably should. He doesn’t turn 21 until June, so there’s still time for him to re-orient himself and get dialed in at the plate, in which case dropping him this far will quickly look foolish. Still, with the initial excitement eroded, Buelvas’ balanced skill set projects more toward a bench outfielder role than an everyday one now.

#45.) Brady Feigl, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: 34

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas (IL)

Feigl missed the entire 2022 season with an undisclosed injury–I’d have to guess it’s an arm surgery, but I’ve never seen it confirmed–so naturally, we have to wait to see when he’ll be able to get back on a pro mound and what his stuff will look like when he does. He remains on the list, though, because throughout 2019 and 2021, Feigl looked the part of a back-of-the-rotation innings-eater, with a strong build, an easy delivery, solid ability to induce ground balls, and a combination of a consistent 92-94 mph fastball and a solid 81-84 mph breaker that alternately is called a slider or a hard curve. It’s not the sort of arsenal that he can afford to lose a lot of steam from and still project as a capable member of a rotation, but Feigl, now 27, could have a Paul Blackburn sort of run if and when he’s back in his old form.

#46.) Shane McGuire, C

‘22 Midseason Rank: 48

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Another entry from Oakland’s excellent 2021 draft class, ninth-rounder McGuire has the best approach in the system, being extremely difficult to fool and making pitchers work extremely hard in every plate appearance. He posted a .405 OBP in his first full season last year, walking a whopping 18.3% of the time after a midseason promotion to Lansing while striking out at only a 12.7% clip there. McGuire wasn’t viewed as a premium defender coming out of college at San Diego and played a fair bit of first base last year in deference to CJ Rodriguez, but he threw out 35% of basestealers (including 57% in Lansing) and has the athleticism to become a decent receiver. With the defensive concerns significantly lessening over the past year, the main knock on McGuire now is his power: he struggled to get his lower body involved in his swing last year and tended to have a very conservative, soft-liner-over-shortstop approach to hitting as a result. He’s not without some strength, and A’s development staff have stated in several interviews they believe there is more power to come here. If they can get that unlocked, McGuire has a chance to be a huge riser this season.

#47.) Jake Walkinshaw, RHSP

‘22 Midseason Rank: NR

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Walkinshaw starts a run of older players at the end of this list. He’s something of an underdog story, being picked in the 36th round of the final 40-round draft in 2019 as a senior out of D2 Southern New Hampshire. He’s moved slowly through the system due to the pandemic shutdown and then a couple of injuries, but the A’s skipped the 26-year-old up to Las Vegas from Lansing late last year and he held his own. Belying his late-round, small-school pedigree, Walkinshaw has legitimate stuff, starting with a fastball in the 91-95 mph range that gets strong sink despite an extremely high, almost vertical release; the resulting approach angle of the pitch makes it very tough to lift. He also throws a solid changeup that similarly has the bottom fall out, and his slurvy breaking ball doesn’t come in particularly hard, but it has good two-plane action. He’s also got a lot of savvy in his command and approach to sequencing. After his solid run in the Vegas bullpen down the stretch, Walkinshaw is returning to starting in 2023 with his first look at the Double-A level, but a strong start will get him back to the minors’ highest level quickly and in the mix for a look with the A’s down the stretch this year. He’s thrown harder in short stints but has the repertoire and savvy to start, so Walkinshaw’s ultimate role could go either way.

#48.) Will Simoneit, C

‘22 Midseason Rank: 47

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Simoneit didn’t get his minor league career started until he was 24–he was a fifth-year senior sign as an undrafted free agent after the abbreviated 2020 draft–but all he’s done since is hit (.269/.373/.418) and catch (28% CS, only 5 PB, +10.6 Catcher Defense Added) well, reaching Las Vegas late in the 2022 season (where he promptly put up a .400 OBP). Simoneit is a big, hulking presence at the plate, but he has more of a gap-oriented, all-fields approach with a solid batting eye, and he’s a surprisingly flexible receiver who has rated as one of the best framers in the system. If Soderstrom ever changes positions, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Simoneit as Shea Langeliers’ backup catcher for much of the next several seasons.

#49.) JJ Schwarz, C

‘22 Midseason Rank: 49

Opening Day Assignment: Midland

Schwarz, like Simoneit, hangs on to the back end of the Top 50 after a strong season in Midland at age 26. He’s a balanced, disciplined hitter at the plate with pop to all fields, and despite a lackluster defensive reputation, he’s only allowed one passed ball over the past two seasons combined. Prospects in their late twenties who haven’t even been significantly tested in Triple-A are always going to be met with a ton of skepticism, but catchers often develop late–Stephen Vogt spent most of his age-26 season in Double-A too. I wouldn’t count Schwarz out of having enough two-way value to play in the big leagues in several different seasons.

#50.) Cal Stevenson, OF

‘22 Midseason Rank: N/A

Opening Day Assignment: Las Vegas

Acquired in the Christian Bethancourt trade last summer, Stevenson is a longtime strong minor league performer, mostly on the back of his on-base skills from the left side. He has above-average speed but has never been regarded as a particularly adept center fielder, putting more pressure on his bat to perform. Still, he’s showed enough pop that there’s a chance he can be a Gregor Blanco sort of player if he can translate his skills to the big leagues. He lit up Vegas after the trade but struggled in 22 games with the A’s, and at age 26, the time is now for him to step up and seize a consistent role for the green and gold.

To conclude, here’s a bit of supplemental information that puts how things have changed from midseason 2022 to now into context.

Graduates from Midseason 2022 Top 50: Shea Langeliers (#1), Nick Allen (#4), Jonah Bride (#16), Adrián Martínez (#19), Adam Oller (#31)

2022 Midseason Top 50 players who dropped off the list: RHSP Colin Peluse (#28), INF/OF Robert Puason (#32), RHSP Jose Dicochea (#37), OF Austin Beck (#38), OF Cody Thomas (#39), RHSP Pedro Santos (#40), INF Drew Swift (#41), RHRP Jack Weisenburger (#42), C CJ Rodriguez (#43), LHSP Brady Basso (#44), RHSP Stevie Emanuels (#46), LHRP Austin Briggs (#50)

Others from 2022 Midseason Top 50 no longer in the A’s organization: RHSP Jeff Criswell (#9, traded to Rockies for Chad Smith) RHSP Kyle Virbitsky (#27, traded to Orioles with Cole Irvin for Hernaiz), OF Devin Foyle (#33, released March 2023)

Honorable Mentions/Just Missed: Santos, Puason, Dicochea, Rodriguez, Basso, RHRP Billy Sullivan, 2B Cooper Bowman, INF/RHRP Bjay Cooke, LHRP Eduardo Rivera, RHSP Roger Rodriguez, C Angel Rivera, RHRP Jasseel De La Cruz, INF German Ortiz. I would also consider Beck but he’s out for the year and a free agent at the end of the season (I’d be very surprised if the former sixth overall pick, a classic change of scenery candidate, re-signs with Oakland), so there’s little point in putting him on an A’s prospect list, but he’d belong in consideration on merit.

Breakdown By Movement & New Arrivals: 9 players moved up at least one rank from midseason 2022 to this list, 19 moved down at least one rank (not counting those who fell off the list entirely), two stayed at the same rank, and there are 20 new entrants (7 draftees, three risers, an international signee, a waiver claim, a Rule 5 Draft pick, and 7 trade acquisitions).

Top 50 Prospects By Position (Midseason 2022 number in parentheses):

C: 5 (6)

INF: 9 (10)

OF: 13 (10)

RHSP: 20 (19)

LHSP: 2 (2)

RHRP: 1 (2)

LHRP: 0 (1)

Not a ton of change in this distribution overall, but we see an increased volume of outfielders (largely through the use of 3 of the organization’s top 4 2022 draft picks in that area against no graduations) and still a notable lack of lefty pitching and pure relief prospects (though starters like Medina, Cusick, Salinas, Juan, and Beers all have significant likelihoods of ultimately ending up in the bullpen). Langeliers’ graduation (and the Sean Murphy trade) leave the organization perhaps a touch less flush with catchers, but with the drafting of Susac, that remains an area of particularly notable strength.

Top 50 Prospects By Opening Day Assignment:

Oakland: 5 (1 IL)

Las Vegas: 8 (2 IL)

Midland: 16

Lansing: 9 (1 IL)

Stockton: 8 (2 IL)

XST: 4

As is often the case, the balance of the Oakland organization seems to tilt toward the upper minors, with the Midland team in particular being loaded with notable names, and there are a number of impending graduations with five players breaking camp with the major league team. Therefore, this system–which typically ranks at or just below average among the 30 major league organizations according to most evaluators–is going to need players to break out and/or a strong draft in order to avoid falling into the bottom third of farm systems a year from now. Still, a strong 2021 draft class and well-regarded 2022 class provide for the strong possibility of said breakouts and increased depth at the lower levels, which will look to have their best seasons since the 2021 minor league reorganization.