Athletics 2025 Community Prospect List: Gunnar Hoglund nabs 13th spot

Will 2025 see him break into the bigs?

Gunnar Hoglund was the nineteenth overall draft pick in 2021 by the Toronto Blue Jays out of the University of Mississippi. He came over to the Athletics in the 2022 Matt Chapman deal. He was injured at the time of the trade and really only saw his first action for the A’s organization in the minors in 2023 where he started 16 games for mostly Single-A Stockton. He has yet to make his MLB debut. Hoglund’s stats last year look like this:

2024 stats (AA): 2.84 ERA, 104 2⁄3 IP, 97 K, 27 BB, 12 HR, 4.02 FIP

2024 stats (AAA): 5.88 ERA, 26 IP, 22 K, 10 BB, 5 HR, 5.91 FIP

Twenty-seven-year-old hurler Brady Basso is the next nominee for the A’s Nation Community Prospect list. Basso started eighteen games for both Midland and Las Vegas in the A’s minor league system, combining for a 5-4 record with a 4.55 ERA. He made three relief appearances for the big-league club in May and June and was part of the September call-up crew. In his second stint with the team he started four games and ended the year 1-1 with a 3.79 ERA in nineteen innings.

The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:

• Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
• If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.
• If you wish to nominate a prospect for the next round, clearly comment, “Nomination: (player)” and fellow readers will upvote your comment.

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A’s fans top prospects, ranked:

1. Jacob Wilson, SS

2. Nick Kurtz, 1B

3. Luis Morales, RHP

4. Denzel Clarke, OF

5. Max Muncy, SS

6. Colby Thomas, OF

7. Mason Barnett, RHP

8. Jack Perkins, RHP

9. Henry Bolte, OF

10. Steven Echavarria, RHP

11. Tommy White, 3B

12. JT Ginn, RHP

13. Gunnar Hoglund, RHP

The voting continues now! Here’s a quick rundown on each one — the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline (last updated mid-2024).

Nominees on the current ballot:

Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, RHP

Expected level: AA | Age 24

2024 stats (A): 1.67 ERA, 32 1⁄3 IP, 37 K, 4 BB, 1 HR, 2.65 FIP

2024 stats (A+): 2.56 ERA, 31 2⁄3 IP, 29 K, 3 BB, 2 HR, 2.72 FIP

2024 stats (AA): 2.05 ERA, 22 IP, 18 K, 5 BB, 2 HR, 3.77 FIP

MLB Pipeline foolishly still doesn’t have Zhuang in its Top 30 prospects, so here’s the scouting report from Nathaniel Stoltz at Excessive Prospect Analysis, who ranked him 10th last season:

Zhuang is starting to get a bit of buzz this year, but as I’ve written and this ranking reinforces, I think he’s probably the most underrated prospect in the system (One could argue some of the unknown Rookie-level guys get that honor, but that’s semantics). He’s dominated when healthy, and fundamentally I start at the same place here as I did with Jack Perkins at 11: I’ve got a ton of confidence in Zhuang’s two primary offerings. In this case, that’s his carrying mid-90s fastball and his changeup/splitter/both/whatever you want to make of his off-speed pitches, which have been untouchable in A-ball and which he commands very well. He does a nice job balancing an aggressive approach–coming right at hitters with the heat–with all sorts of cunning, changing speeds and shapes on pitches in ways that can really hold up several times through the order.

Zhuang is only a few months shy of turning 24 and still in A-ball–due to injury layoff, certainly not performance–so he still has a lot to prove, even if I think he’ll prove it quickly. First and foremost, he’s got to prove he can stay healthy. Beyond that, there’s still the matter of his breaking stuff–particularly the harder breaking ball that keeps morphing between slider and cutter, and his extreme flyball tendency. But as I noted in the longform analysis, Zhuang’s two best pitches + command are tough for anyone in the system to equal. He looks the part of a solid mid-rotation starter and should be able to move up the remaining levels quickly if health allows.

Daniel Susac, C

Expected level: Double-A | Age 25

2024 stats (AA): 370 PA, .257/.300/.434, 19 doubles, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 16 BB, 96 K, 7 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

There is some athleticism to the 6-foot-4 Susac, who was a standout dual-threat quarterback in high school. His stylish swing comes with good bat-to-ball skills and an ability to drive the ball to all fields. There is some legit raw power that was touted as an amateur that the A’s hope to see emerge as he continues his transition to pro ball.

Susac’s defensive prowess was part of the package that made him such a highly ranked catcher in his Draft class. His overall catching skills, particularly his receiving, improved as his first full season went along. Lauded for his strong arm and natural leadership characteristics, he will look to continue his impact on both sides of the diamond as he progresses through the system.

Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS

Expected level: Double-A | Age 22

2024 stats (A,A+,AAA): 108 PA, .324/.421/.343, 2 doubles, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 12 BB, 9 K, 5 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 40 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

Compact, strong and athletic, Kuroda-Grauer does a lot of things well from the right side of the plate. He almost never strikes out and seldom swings and misses, combining his contact skills with an advanced approach that points toward becoming at least an above-average hitter in the future. Utilizing an upright stance and a simple swing, he works counts and makes good swing decisions. There hasn’t been a ton of pop yet, but there is some belief he could grow into 15-homer power in the future.

While he’s not a burner, Kuroda-Grauer does run well and can steal some bases. Because of his above-average hands and actions to go along with a good internal clock, he has the chance to stick at shortstop, even though he has an arm that is just average. He could be a plus defender at second base should a move be necessary, but it’s those bat-to-ball attributes the A’s will be banking to carry him to the big leagues.

Gage Jump, LHP

Expected level: Low-A | Age 21

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Hitters have a difficult time picking up Jump’s fastball, which ranges from 90-95 mph with significant induced vertical break and carry at the top of the strike zone. It pairs well with his upper-70s curveball that has significant downer break coming out of his high arm slot. He also spins a low-80s slider with more lateral movement and has some feel for a fading low-80s changeup.

Jump lacks typical starter’s size but he has gotten stronger since having his elbow reconstructed and generates his stuff with arm speed more than effort. He attacks hitters and had a history of throwing four pitches for strikes before getting hurt. If he can maintain his stuff while upgrading his command, he could become a mid-rotation starter

Brady Basso, LHP

Expected level: AAA | Age 27

2024 stats (AA,AAA): 4.55 ERA, 93 IP, 109 K, 25 BB, 18 HR, 4.79 FIP

2024 stats (MLB): 4.03 ERA, 22 1⁄3 IP, 19 K, 5 BB, 3 HR, 3.88 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 55 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

There was a point earlier in his career when Basso was hitting 98 mph with his fastball. Nowadays, he tops out around 94 with the heater to go along with a wipeout curveball in the mid-70s, cutter in the mid-80s that generates ground balls and swing-and-miss and a changeup that continues to improve. That gives him a solid lefty starter mix.

Basso is mechanically sound on the mound with good control, which is evident by his low walk totals. Now on the 40-man roster, he will look to stay healthy and potentially earn a chance to appear in the A’s starting rotation at some point this season.

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