Athletics 2025 Community Prospect List: Kuroda-Grauer finally cracks the list

Who will join him in the final few spots?

We only have a few spots left in out Top-20 A’s prospects list. Taking the 17th spot is recent draftee Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, a shortstop out of Rutgers University that the club selected in the 3rd-round just last year. A content-oriented approach at the plate gives the 22-year-old a high-floor but there isn’t much power in that bat of his. He’s still young and could develop some pop down the line, which would significantly raise his ceiling. He has the hands and decent enough speed to be a decent defender at shortstop, though he would likely be an above-average second baseman if he ever slides over to the keystone, which many scouts consider his long-term home. He already shot all the way up to Triple-A last year for a quick 4-game tryout but he’ll likely begin the year at Double-A, a level he skipped last year.

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

The next nominee is a recent signee from overseas. That player is two-way prospect Shotaro Morii, who only just joined the organization last month. He had plenty of fan-fare before joining the A’s for a record-breaking bonus but that’ll look like chump change if Morii can scratch even the surface of his potential. Lots of scouts believe he’ll be a better hitter than pitcher but the club is going to let him develop both skills as they hope they’ve got the next Shohei Ohtani in their system. He’s very young so don’t expect to see him in the Green & Gold anytime soon, but he’ll be a fun prospect to watch rise the ranks over the next few years.

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.

* * *

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

14. Gage Jump, LHP

15. Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang

16. Daniel Susac, C

17. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer

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:

Grant Holman, RHP

Expected level: MLB | Age 24

2024 stats (AA/AAA): 0.55 ERA, 48 2⁄3 IP, 54 K, 22 BB, 1 HR, 3.13 FIP

2024 stats (MLB): 4.02 ERA, 15 2⁄3 IP, 16 K, 9 BB, 1 HR, 3.87 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Splitter: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Much of Holman’s step forward this season has come simply as a result of being healthy and getting regular reps. He’s always had pretty electric stuff and has finally gotten the opportunity to harness it. It starts with a fastball that sits around 95 mph with excellent life, which misses a good amount of bats. He backs it up with sharp low-80s slider that can also be an out pitch at times, and he still employs a splitter as his changeup, though he doesn’t use it as often as a short reliever.

Holman has long had a bulldog mentality on the bump and likes to attack hitters, something that serves him well in the back end of the bullpen. He also doesn’t have to worry about pinpoint command and the hope is it gives him a better chance of staying on the mound. The 2021 Draft has already produced several big leaguers and prospects — including current A’s closer Mason Miller — and it’s not hard to see Holman joining Miller in a setup type role in the near future.

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.

Rodney Green, OF

Expected level: A | Age 21

2024 stats (A): 108 PA, .289/.368/.464, 2 doubles, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 13 BB, 30 K, 9 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

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

Green possesses an exciting power-speed combination, but enthusiasm is dampened by his propensity to swing-and-miss. There’s a ton of raw pop for him to tap into, and while he started turning on pitches and hitting balls out to his pull side as a sophomore, the left-handed hitter might be at his best when he lets the ball travel and he drives it the opposite way, something he did last fall. There was hope that was a sign of an improved hit tool, but his strikeout rate hovered around 28 percent in 2024. His unorthodox mechanics at the plate — he doesn’t use his lower half – have continued to hamper him.

Green is an easily plus runner, the kind of long strider who is even better underway. That helps him cover a lot of ground and could give him a chance to play center field, though some scouts think he might be better suited to left, and he’s worked hard to build his arm strength from well below average in high school to average now. There’s still a lot of ceiling here, but the lack of consistent contact will be a hurdle to overcome.

Ayden Johnson, SS

Expected level: Rookie | Age 17

Signed out of the Bahamas on January 20th

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

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

Equipped with MLB-level physicality at a young age, Johnson fits the mold of a bat-first young prospect evaluators can dream on. He starts from a clean right-handed setup at the plate and then unleashes a fast and crisp bat path, which enables him to pepper the ball to all fields. His mental acumen earns high marks as well. He has keyed in on the zone as he has matured, beginning to hunt his pitch to do extra damage.

While reps at shortstop in the pro ranks are precious (and some evaluators see a move to either the hot corner or the keystone as likely), Johnson’s athleticism will allow him to stick at the spot for now. A solid-if-unspectacular runner, he is rock steady up the middle, forgoing defensive flash for consistent actions.

Shotaro Morii, SS/RHP

Expected level: ROK | Age 18

Morii is a two-way player who attended a small school in Japan and played most of his teenage career away from the tutelage of NPB academies, emerging late in his high school career as a projected first-round pick had he entered the NPB draft. His bonus, which comes out of the A’s 2025 international pool, is believed to be the largest ever for a Japanese player who did not play in NPB.

A left-handed hitter, Morii said he has been a two-way player since he was 8. He hit 45 home runs in three seasons while also pitching at Tokyo’s TOHO Junior and Senior High School. He will start at the lowest minor league level in Mesa, Arizona, with the Arizona Complex League Athletics.

While the majority of international scouts have higher belief in Morii’s long-term offensive prowess, the tantalizing upside on the hill is undeniable. In addition to the attributes that pop, Morii excites evaluators due to his relatively light usage on the mound. He’s only been pitching with regularity for around the past 18 months, giving him something of a fresh arm as he enters the organization.

* * *