*In an effort to make the nomination voting easier for everyone, I will comment, “NOMINATIONS”, and you may reply to that with your picks and upvote the player you’d like to see on the next nominee list.
Taking the ninth spot on our annual CPL is right-handed pitcher Steven Echavarria. The 20-year-old righty had some bumps on the road during his second full season as a professional pitcher on the lower end of the farm but also flashed his awesome repertoire at times. Echavarria has plenty of work to do in the lower levels of the system as a high-school draftee, especially in the control department, but luckily for him he’s still incredibly young for the level he’s at and could show some serious progress this coming season. The A’s clearly think very highly of him.
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Taking the next open nominee spot is right-hander Mason Barnett. Considered the prize of the Lucas Erceg trade to the Royals, Barnett was one of the better pitching prospects in the system last year but has dropped down after a lackluster year at Triple-A and some additions to the system. That said he profiles as a back-end starter that could be a legitimate option for the A’s this coming season. He’s already made his big league debut with five starts in September for the A’s and now that he’s gotten his feet wet in the big leagues the righty will almost certainly be an option for manager Mark Kotsay during the coming summer. Will he be able to solidify a spot in the rotation is another matter, but the team is going to give him that chance at some point. You can count on that.
The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:
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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.
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In the comments, below the official voting, the community will nominate players to be put onto the ballot for the next round. The format for your comment should be “Nomination: Player Name”.
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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.
Click on the link here to vote!
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A’s fans top prospects, ranked:
The voting continues! Who rounds out the top ten players in the farm system? Here’s a quick rundown on each nominee— the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline.
Nominees on the current ballot:
Tommy White, 3B
Expected level: Double-A | Age: 22
2025 stats (A+/AA): 395 PA, .275/.334/.439, 23 doubles, 0 triples, 12 HR, 51 RBI, 29 BB, 54 K, 3 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45
White’s right-handed power is legitimate and he can hit the ball a long way to all fields thanks to his strength and bat speed. He might be known for his home run totals but he’s a better overall hitter than people think, finding the barrel consistently and limiting strikeouts. His knack for contact can lead to him expanding his strike zone, but he doesn’t swing and miss very often.
It will be White’s bat that carries him to the big leagues. He’s a well-below-average runner who likely lacks the range and tools to stick at third base, where he toiled as a sophomore and junior, earning praise for playing through a shoulder injury at LSU in 2023. He’s likely headed to first base long term, which could give the A’s a glut of serious offensive talent between him and first-rounder Nick Kurtz.
Shotaro Morii, SS/RHP
Expected level: Low-A | Age: 19
2025 stats (Rookie Affiliate): 188 PA, .258/.399/.384, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 36 BB, 47 K, 4 SB
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MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades (hitter): Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40
Scouting grades (pitcher): Fastball: 55 | Slider: 40 | Curveball: 45 | Splitter: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40
At the plate, Morii features a smooth left-handed swing with tremendous balance. His power stands out, as he clubbed 45 home runs as a high schooler. He is considered an advanced hitter with good barrel control. On the mound, his fastball has been clocked as high as 95 mph and sits around 92-93. He also brings a splitter with nasty movement, a true 12-to-6 curveball and a tighter slider with solid bite and depth, though that offering will probably require some fine-tuning. Having only been pitching with regularity for less than two years, Morii’s arm is relatively fresh as he enters the organization.
Morii’s high-octane throwing arm plays well at shortstop, but some evaluators see a possibility of moving to third base as his 6-foot-1 frame fills out. While scouts see Morii’s long-term future in the batter’s box, the A’s plan on giving him every opportunity to succeed as a two-way player, with excitement already building over his impressive physical traits and desire to become one of the next great players out of Japan.
Devin Taylor, OF
Expected level: High-A | Age: 22
2025 stats (Single-A): 188 PA, .264/.388/.481, 5 doubles, 0 triples, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 21 BB, 37 K, 2 SB
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45
Taylor shows the potential to become a plus hitter in terms of both average and power while controlling the strike zone. A left-handed hitter with plenty of bat speed and strength, he hits the ball extremely hard and generates power to all fields. He likes to swing the bat but has cut down on his chases this spring. He makes consistent contact and has no problems handling breaking pitches.
The majority of Taylor’s value will come from his offensive production. His speed, arm strength and defensive instincts all grade as fringy, which will limit him to a corner outfield spot in pro ball.
Mason Barnett, RHP
Expected level: Triple-A/Majors | Age: 25
2025 stats (Triple-A): 6.13 ERA, 23 starts (25 appearances), 119 IP, 124 K, 65 BB, 17 HR, 5.53 FIP
2025 stats (Majors): 6.85 ERA, 5 starts, 22 1/3 IP, 18 K, 11 BB, 3 HR, 4.88 FIP
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45
Barnett leads a four-pitch mix with his fastball. Though it may not reach the 99 mph it once did earlier in his career, he can still rev it up to about 96 mph while sitting around 94. His mid-80s slider has evolved into more of a sweeper with good bite and emerged as a strong secondary pitch, providing solid separation in velocity from his upper-70s curve. He also utilizes a mid-80s changeup that is especially effective against left-handed batters.
Listed at 6-foot and 218 pounds, Barnett is showing all the traits of a “bulldog” on the mound who goes right after opposing hitters. He demonstrated strong improvement in his overall strike-throwing ability with his cleaned-up three-quarters arm slot that at times got a little long in the past. If the improvements hold up at the next level, the A’s view him as a long-term starter and believe he could push his way up to the big leagues at some point in 2025.
Cole Miller, RHP
Expected level: Single-A | Age: 20
2025 stats (ROK, Single-A): 1.90 ERA, 12 starts (15 appearances), 52 IP, 45 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 3.38 FIP
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MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40
The A’s were working on some mechanical adjustments with Miller prior to his injury. His electric fastball ticked up to 96 mph in high school and displayed excellent movement down in the zone. The mid-80s slider is a hard breaker and was showing signs of improvement. His low-80s changeup showed some potential as an average third pitch.
There was real excitement within the organization for Miller’s professional debut. His three-pitch mix and large 6-foot-6 frame give off the potential of a workhorse-type starting pitcher in the big leagues. The A’s also loved the competitiveness they saw from him on the mound while scouting him. After an unfortunate delay, he finally got his first opportunity to make an impression this summer.
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Programming Note: Each CPL vote will run for around 48 hours, so don’t delay in making your vote!
