Arizona Fall League: Daniel Robertson

Sep 20, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of practice baseballs before the game between the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Fall League is set to commence, and there are some A’s prospects that are worth watching that will be taking the field.

First and foremost, there’s Daniel Robertson, the A’s #1 prospect, and projected shortstop of the future since Addison Russell was traded away on July 4th. There has been talk that Russell, while highly talented, became a trade chip due to the progression of Robertson. The Arizona Fall League will be a great proving ground for Robertson, who will be paired with Russell on the same team, the Mesa Solar Sox.

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In Stockton this season, Robertson put up some impressive numbers, batting .310, with 15 home runs, 60 rbi and a .402 on-base percentage. According to Baseball America, Robertson, is the #7 prospect in the California League. They also say that Robertson is the most “well-rounded” of the Athletics’ prospects.

Baseball America provides the following scouting report on Robertson, “[he] consistently grinds out quality at-bats, and he could become a 20-homer threat as he matures physically. For now he’s more of an opportunistic power hitter, taking advantage of mistakes while otherwise staying inside the ball. He ended the season on a tear, hitting .368 in August to finish third in the minors with 170 hits on the year.”

The report goes on to say, “Robertson takes his intelligent approach with him to shortstop, where his feel for positioning helps compensate for a lack of footspeed. He does have a strong arm and sure hands, but he remains a candidate for a position change.”

While the speculation over a possible position change isn’t exactly what A’s fans want to hear following the trade of fellow shortstop Russell, the rest of the report shows that Robertson has the makings of a very solid player for future A’s teams.

If the position change is a matter of his footspeed, that is something that the 20-year old can work on in the offseason, and in Spring Training.

In the first game of the season on Tuesday, Robertson went 0-for-3 with a walk against the Glendale Desert Dogs. Wednesday’s game was postponed due to rain.

We’ll continue to update you on the progress of Daniel Robertson, and other A’s prospects, throughout the Arizona Fall League season.