A rebuilding cycle is nothing new for the Oakland A’s. It is a part of their organizational philosophy and will be until they get ownership that is actually willing to spend. every few years, the A’s trade away their top players, hoping to reload with prospects and go on a run in the next couple of years.
However, in those times, there are usually signs of hope for the future. The A’s had top prospects on both sides of the ball ready to contribute at the major league level. One could see where those players had the potential to be stars, and on the pitching side, where there were possible top of the rotation arms if they developed as expected.
Oakland A’s need talent everywhere on roster and farm system
The A’s do have some talent. Three of their prospects – Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, and Zack Gelof – rank amongst the top 100 per MLB.com’s midseason update. And that is about it for top end talent in their system.
Other former top prospects have been given plenty of chances this year. Kevin Smith and Cristian Pache received far more playing time than they likely deserved and both fell flat. While both are young enough where it possible that they can become the types of players they were expected to develop into, but nothing at the major league level indicates that will be the case.
Yes, the A’s are in an enviable spot in having plenty of riches at catcher in their system. However, they do not have many other potential breakout players and can only have one player behind the plate at a time. Soderstrom may end up moving to first because of Langeliers, but the A’s also drafted another catcher with the 19th overall pick.
The pitching is the biggest concern. Even their top pitching prospects are viewed as possible back of the rotation starters or have bullpen risk. Maybe Gunnar Hoglund and J.T. Ginn can surprise, but the future rotation does not appear overly impressive.
That makes this upcoming trade deadline all the more important. They have to land more top end talent for Frankie Montas, and not grab yet another catcher in doing so. Otherwise, this rebuild could take even longer than expected.
The Oakland A’s farm system is mediocre and the major league roster is horrendous. Expect this rebuild to last a lot longer than before.