A Minor Review of 2015: Oakland Athletics

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Oakland A’s

The Graduate: Billy Burns, OF: The Nationals scored big in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft with Burns. He understands what he needs to do to be successful: get on base and run. His approach at the plate collapsed a bit in the majors (26-81 BB-K rate) compared to his time in the minors (211-245 BB-K) but he was still successful thanks to his ability to hit for average. He stole 26 bases (in 34 tries) at the big league level but has topped 50 bases twice in his career so there is more value there if Oakland gives him the green light.

The Riser: Jacob Nottingham, C: Acquired from the Astros in the Scott Kazmir deal last year, Nottingham immediately became the organization’s catcher of the future. He should be good enough defensively behind the plate to stick there but he’ll never win a gold glove. Still, his bat has immense potential as a catcher and could hit 15 home runs in a season. Just 20, the former sixth round draft pick has a shot at opening 2016 in Double-A, although he could return to High-A ball if the A’s want to slow him down a bit to work on his defence.

The Tumbler: Raul Alcantara, RHP: A former Red Sox prospect, Oakland acquired him as a low-level flyer and saw him start to breakout in 2013. Unfortunately, he missed almost all of 2014 and part of ’15 due to injury (Tommy John surgery). When he returned, he still had the fastball that could reach the mid-90s but he lost key development time needed to improve his breaking ball. He struck out just 29 batters in 48.2 innings of work last year and has a ways to go with improving his secondary stuff and command (His control continues to be above average). A bounce-back year from Alcantara in 2016 would be huge; the system is loaded with bats but has few impact arms.

The ’15 Draft Pick: Richie Martin, SS: A lot of teams were said to be high on Martin and the A’s nabbed the college shortstop with the 20th pick of the ’15 draft. Oakland has a number of promising shortstop prospects but Franklin Barreto will likely relocate to the outfield which will open up the infield position for Martin. That’s good news for the prospect’s value because his greatest asset is his work at shortstop… followed by his solid speed. He doesn’t project to be an impact player at the plate but he should be respectable.

The Lottery Ticket: Yairo Munoz, SS: Yet another shortstop prospect in the system, Munoz was a key international free agent signing back in 2012. Now 20, he has shown the ability to step into some home runs and also steal some bases. He’s extremely athletic and could easily move to another position to accommodate Franklin Barreto and/or Richie Martin.