4 Oakland Athletics' prospects to watch in 2024

The Oakland Athletics have a number of prospects in the system worth getting excited about. From guys who made their debuts in 2023 and are still prospect eligible, to players who will look to build off strong minor league campaigns, there are a few reasons to be optimistic about the Athletics future on the field.

Off the field, there's still a bit of room left to hope that the A's don't end up leaving Oakland. The Las Vegas stadium financing piece hasn't been completely sorted out, and John Fisher might be forced back to the bargaining table with Oakland.

At mid-season in 2023, MLB.com ranked the Athletics' system as the 26th best in baseball. The industry perception of the A's system as a whole isn't great, especially after the graduation of Zack Gelof last year. However, there are some top-line guys worth keeping an eye on in 2024 and beyond.

The Athletics top prospect is Mason Miller, and you only have to watch him pitch for a few minutes to see why. Miller has elite fastball velocity, ramping the four-seamer up into the triple digits with frequency and adding two strong breaking pitches into the mix as well.

Miller is going to be a vital part of the 2024 team in Oakland. He's set to pitch out of the bullpen after GM David Forst came out and said they want to limit his innings in order to preserve his health.

Miller should step immediately into a high-leverage role in the pen, considering the retirement of Trevor May and lack of qualified back-end bullpen guys. Recent free agent addition Trevor Gott is one of the few relievers in Oakland's bullpen with late-inning experience, but Miller has significantly better stuff and more upside.

Whether that means closing games or pitching in the biggest spots as a multi-inning reliever, Miller should fit well in the role. He was extremely effective in short bursts last year, and if keeping his pitch counts down is the best way to keep him on the field then it's probably worth sacrificing him as a starter.

Miller has an opportunity to become one of the more dominant relief pitchers in the league with his repertoire and we're extremely excited to see what he brings to the table in 2024.

Another guy who started making some noise at the major league level in 2023 is righty Joe Boyle. Acquired in the Sam Moll trade back in 2022, Boyle joined the Athletics and has been an effective starter at multiple levels.

Boyle posted a sub 2.20 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A the past two years and had a strong debut in Oakland at the end of 2023. Boyle started three games for the Athletics, posting a 1.69 ERA with a 3.13 FIP and a 25% strikeout rate.

Statcast loves the lanky righty. Coming in at 6' 7", Boyle's high-90's fastball puts him in the 95th percentile league-wide and his big frame gets him great extension on the mound. He primarily throws a fastball and a slider, but does mix in a curveball from time to time.

Boyle is currently slated to be in the conversation for the opening day rotation. Ken Waldichuk's availability is up in the air, so Boyle will be in competition with guys like Luis Medina, Osvaldo Bido, Freddy Tarnok, and Adrian Martinez.

Given Boyle's performance in 2023, both in Oakland and in the minors, he should be one of the first guys to get a chance to grab a spot. It'll be a bit dependent on his performance in the spring but we expect Boyle to win a starting job and excel in 2024.

Signed in January 2023, Luis Morales quickly made an impression in the Athletics' system. He moved through four levels, finishing the year at High-A Lansing.

Morales compiled a 2.86 ERA across 44 innings with a strikeout rate just below 30%. He has a fastball that sits in the upper 90's with a wipeout slider and curveball combo that he uses to get whiffs. He's a little wild but not concerningly so.

Baseball America has Morales as the Athletics' fourth best prospect heading into 2024. Their biggest knock against him is that the curveball and slider sometimes blend into similar looking pitches, and that he needs to differentiate them more in order to have success as a starter.

Morales didn't earn a non-roster spring training invite. His lack of innings at the professional level is likely the biggest reason why, as the A's will look to further refine his pitches at lower levels before introducing him to more advanced hitters.

However, if Morales is able to dial in the breaking pitches, he could become a monster. He forced the A's to move him quickly through the system last year and it's certainly possible he does so again in 2024.