Athletics’ 2025 Community Prospect List: Holman take #19 spot

The Community Prospect List continues today after a short hiatus. Taking the #19 spot on the list is right-hander reliever Grant Holman. The righty sped through the farm system and made his debut for the Athletics last year, appearing in five games for the A’s at the end of last year. We should expect to see more of Holman this year even if he doesn’t crack the Opening Day roster.

Our next nominee for the list will be Will Johnston, a left-handed pitcher. The team selected him in the 13th round back in 2023 and he made it all the way to Double-A last season. Currently a starting pitcher, the team is still evaluating if that’ll be his ultimate role when he finally approaches the majors. If not then a bullpen role awaits the lefty.

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

14. Gage Jump, LHP

15. Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, RHP

16. Daniel Susac, C

17. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS

18. Brady Basso, LHP

19. Grant Holman, 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:

Will Johnston, LHP

Expected level: Double-A | Age 25

2024 stats (AA/AAA): 3.88 ERA, 99 2⁄3 IP, 137 K, 40 BB, 8 HR, 3.09 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

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

Johnston appears to have a much better feel for his three-pitch mix than he did in college. His fastball velocity typically varies from 89-94 mph and can touch up to 96. His split-changeup flashes plus as it continues developing as a true out pitch. His low-80s slider is improving but still a work in progress as it sometimes gives off the look of a slurvy-type offering.

Big-bodied at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Johnston has the size and arsenal to stay in a starting role, something that may have seemed like a long shot before he was drafted. His strike-throwing ability has clearly improved as a professional, which helped him quickly rise through multiple levels last season. Maintaining that control along with tightening up the breaking ball as a solid third pitch will be the keys to developing into a possible back-end rotation piece, with a floor of a multi-inning lefty reliever out of the bullpen.

Myles Naylor, 3B

Expected level: A+ | Age 19

2024 stats (A): 132 PA, .208/.280/.375, 2 doubles, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 11 BB, 52 K, 2 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

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

Naylor is a little less polished with the bat than Josh and Bo when they were drafted, though the A’s like what they have seen so far, raving about his legitimate power they hope to see show up in games soon. His bat speed is impressive with smooth extension and follow-through. Like most young hitters, there is some swing-and-miss, and his struggles with breaking stuff crept up at times while playing with Stockton as he struck out 52 times in 132 plate appearances.

Naylor’s average speed is likely to slow down as he matures and grows into his body. He was a shortstop in high school and played there for all but one game with Stockton, but an eventual move to third base is likely to come at some point, which should be fine given his hands and strong arm.

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: Rookie | Age 18

Signed out of Japan on January 15th

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.

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