Oakland Athletics: Top 2012 Prospects
Moneyball II: Less Money, More Manny?
A whole lot of new faces will be showing up under the old green and gold in 2012.
What an offseason. As if seeing GM Billy Beane hobknobbing around Hollywood wasn't strange enough, Oakland fans also watched in stunned silence when what seemed to be half their major league ballclub, and a good portion of their farm system, was dismantled during the cold months. Entire busloads of new and unfamiliar talent were being fitted in green and gold while half of northern California was still trying to learn how to spell their names.
It's important to remember that nobody really ever doubts Billy Beane anymore, and there really hasn't yet been any reason to do so. But the dual nature of the team's offseason moves has been confusing to both fans and disinterested analysts alike. On the one hand, drafting big bonus babies while shipping off expensive but aging talent for future gold is just regular old rebuilding, preparing your organization to have a much-better new team a few years from now. But signing expensive import sluggers and prime-time veterans to contracts that will end before the new team even arrives is... something else. But, well... see the first sentence of this paragraph. We're going to bite our tongues until they bleed if we have to.
If nothing else, all the new young talent in Oakland will keep fans talking and make the game exciting in the next couple of seasons. In AJ Cole, Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray and Brad Peacock, the Athletics have what's arguably twenty percent of all of baseball's best righthanded pitching prospects under contract, and most of them are ready or close-to-ready for MLB ball right now.
On the offensive side of the equation, Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, widely expected to sign with a much wealthier team in Boston or New York, should transition directly into MLB with only a few bumps along the way. Even 'also-ran' prospects like Derek Norris, Chris Carter and Grant Green are, in our small opinion, still promising prospects that deserve more attention than their recently-fading press indicates.
Beyond that, the A's have a fascinating stable of young talent in the lower levels of the minors, a couple of MLB-ready older prospects who should see action this year, and at least one pitcher who specializes in making his mother's hair turn prematurely gray.
For all this, and more, tune into our... no, wait... click in to read more about our Top Oakland Athletics Prospects for 2012.
The usual disclaimer: Scouting Book's Prospect Rankings change very often, to reflect the latest and most promising prospects. These listings recalculate every day as we include new input, correct errors (thanks for letting us know, helpful readers) and MLB situations evolve. For more information on our system, read this blog posting.
Next Up: New York Yankees.
