Rashun Dixon was a two way star that the A's tore away in the 10th round of 2008. He's got tools, but has yet to put too many of them to good use. He posted a pretty great .263 ISO in 2008 in rookie ball, but hasn't come anywhere close to that since then. He's already somewhat injury prone, but he's still young. He had a very bad 2009, posting just a .281 wOBA over 57 games in low A, but bounced back to the tune of a .352 wOBA as the A's moved him up anyway to A ball. He has a short, compact swing allowing for good reactions on inside pitches. He cut down on his K rate this year, but it's still an unsettling 30%. Dixon is making steady progress as can be seen though, and if he can stay on the field while improving his tools, he has 5 tool upside. His biggest concern is that K rate, which may cause him to fade away in AA as a failed tools guy.
Michael Ynoa is the epitome of high ceiling. The A's drafted him in 2008 for a record signing bonus of 4.25 million when he was 16. Ynoa was heralded as the best pitching prospect out of Latin America in years, and chose Oakland over the Yankees reportedly because the A's treated him a little better during the courtship. As a 16 year old, he was listed at 6'7'' and 210lbs, throwing 95 MPH on his fastball, with a curve and a change to boot. Unfortunate, after just 9 innings over 3 appearances, he went down and had to have Tommy John in August of 2010, setting back his progress a good amount. Even though he may not pitch again until 2012, he's a good comeback candidate from TJ. He's got a great build and was very well developed for his age, so his timeline after recovering could be expedited. In some eyes, he's basically become a great college-age prospect rather than a high school phenom, but he has basically zero experience to speak of, and as such, has a long way to go before he gets put back on any top 50 lists.
Yordy Cabrera: Drafted this year, Cabrera is a very toolsy High School shortstop who's got a lot of potential. Drafted as a 19 year old because of immigration school shenanigans, he was old for his draft class. That said, he plays a fine Shortstop for now due to average and a fantastic arm, but he's still growing, and a general consensus says he'll move to 3B or the outfield eventually. During BP he has a level swing, but when he gets anxious he uppercuts a little bit, though not in a Cust-like manner. While he's not slow, it doesn't look like speed will be his game much, but if he keeps growing power could be a big part of his game. He's a natural athlete though, and his future will depend on what route the team decides to move him towards to take advantage of his plethora of tools.
Max Stassi: Probably the most divisive of prospects in terms of Athletics Nation's opinions, Stassi is a very talented High School catcher. The upside is that his defense and pitcher handling abilities have been almost universally praised, he's got the build and durability to stay at catcher, and his offensive ability could mature to the point where he'd be a good bat at catcher. The bad news is that he's a high school catcher (which have a notoriously high failure rate) and an extremely high K rate of 34.3%. As was pointed out on the blog, the K rate is high enough that only Russell Branyan can claim a K rate that high since 94 out of that league and also claim a respectable career, so he needs to drop it in order to progress. That said, Stassi is still very young and has a lot of time to improve, and if he can drop his K rates while keeping his power up, his defense constant, and off the operating table, he becomes a very exciting prospect to watch.
Fautino De Los Santos: FDLS as he's commonly shortened to was acquired by the A's in the Nick Swisher deal. At the time, he was considered an even prospect to the other pitcher acquired in the deal (Gio Gonzalez) though much further away from the majors. A Tommy John Surgery early on dropped his status a lot, and he just came back for 31 innings this year. While he had a hard time keeping the runs off the board, his peripherals were fantastic, with a 14.5 K/9 and a 2.09 FIP. He's no longer a starter, but he's a dark horse candidate to make the bullpen this year a la Andrew Bailey of 2009. He works off a Fastball/Slider/Changeup arsenal, but scouts say he has two fastballs (one with slight horizontal and one with slight vertical movement, both mid 90s) and his slider moves like a Slurve and looks like a Fastball out of the hands. His change up is nothing special, but as a reliever, he could get by with two great pitches, which is what he has. Look for him to keep the K rates up and we could see him soon.
Josh Donaldson: Donaldson came over in the Harden/Cubs trade in 2008, and has steadily progressed since then, getting a taste of the big leagues this year. Scouting reports say his arm is great, but his receiving is still in development. He's close to being Major League ready with his bat, and could even pull a backup job on a number of teams. His power is his main asset, as he has 20 home run upside with a high (!380) OBP to boot. He has hit for average in the past, but anything beyond 260 is gravy really with his power and eye. His K rate jumped this year in AAA corresponding with a drop in AVG, which may signify a bit of flailing at the plate. Look for Josh to start the season in AAA as the third catcher to Suzuki and Powell while he works on his approach, and be the first replacement in case of injury, a Suzuki trade, or Powell not getting it done.
Eric Sogard (Pasted from my original post) Sogard was originally drafted by the Padres in the 2nd round out of ASU. He’s played 2nd base basically his entire career, and reports about his skillset vary pretty wildly. Depending on who you talk to, you may hear anything from David Eckstein to AAA filler. Offensively, he has very little pop but a lot of patience at the plate, working over a 370 OBP the last three Minor league seasons. He walks more than he strikes out, which is, needless to say, good. Defensively, some say he’s improved a lot, but most reports say he’s average at best. If he can keep his walk rate and average around the 300/390 levels, he could be a passable major league 2nd baseman, despite the lack of power. If he can’t keep it up, then he’ll get a cup of tea somewhere as a utilityman, though his defense will have to improve to justify any reasonable amount of time at shortstop. He’ll almost certainly get that shot with Pennington/Rosales recovering from injuries, though with his low ceiling he’ll have to justify it quickly in order to not get lost in the shuffle.
Jemile Weeks: Weeks was the A's 1st round draft pick in 2008, and it brought mixed reviews. Weeks is a very athletic 2B/CF with the tools to make it happen, but his minor league career has been plagued by injuries. When healthy, he's been great, posting solid numbers in all categories and no real weaknesses. That said, he hasn't shown any great strengths. His power is middling at best, and while reports say he's fast enough to be a threat, he hasn't been stealing bases much. It's hard to tell whether his talent is middling or whether his wealth of injuries is constantly holding him back. If he were healthy, he'd be contending for a roster spot this year, but he's yet to play more than 80 games in two full professional seasons, and this year will be a 24 year old hoping to crack the AAA roster. If he can stay on the field we might see a September call up this year, but he needs to overcome that rather big hill to get attention.
Ian Krol: Krol was a highly touted high school prospect, blowing away his local hitters, one year throwing 3 no hitters including a perfect game. He's a Left Handed pitcher who relies on command and control rather than velocity to get outs. His fastball is average, but his changeup and curveball profile to be above average. He kept the ball well at the edges of the zone, as shown in his very low walk rate (1.44) but his also low K/9 (6.9) He'll probably start the year in High A this year, maybe even transitioning to AA if he continues to do well. With his ability to induce weak contact and the A's recent focus on defense, he profiles well to stay a SP in the A's system, though his ceiling probably isn't Ace potential. If he stays on the ball, he may see MLB time as early as 2012.
Tyson Ross: Ross was a 2nd round pick out of (Rest in Peace) the Cal Berkeley Baseball Program. At the time, he projected as a high upside guy with injury concerns. He has an inverted W delivery which caused him enough trouble to force him into Tommy Johns in college, but stayed healthy until he ran into a UCL sprain in the second half of this year. He cracked the bullpen out of Spring Training last year with injuries to Devine and Wuertz, and was electrifying for a short while, becoming Geren's high leverage reliever of choice in the 7th inning. That said, the streak came to a close after a few weeks, and Ross was sent back down to AAA, where he pitched well but battled the sprain. He has a decent arsenal; Fastball, Sinker, Slider, and Changeup, though Ross claims he rarely throws the Change when he's relieving. Thanks to Pitch F/x we know his Fastball and Sinker are low 90s and have good vertical movement, while his slider appears to mainly swing horizontally with little vertical movement. He throws all his pitches from the same release point, and uses a lot of arm as detailed by the aforementioned inverted W. Ross will compete for the 5th starter spot, though he'll probably start the year in AAA and look for an injury replacement spot during the year.
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