Athletics Community Prospect List: Shotaro Morii seizes #21
Who is surprised?
After a lot of hype in camp and even some national eyes, the Athletics’ recent international signee is the clearcut winner of the recent round of voting. Taking the 21st spot on the list is two-way player Shotaro Morii.
The high-profile signee came over from Japan with the idea of becoming the next Shohei Ohtani. That’ll be a tall task to be sure but the A’s are planning to let him try playing shortstop and pitching. That was one of the reasons that Morii decided to sign with the A’s as a 17-year old. Many scouts believe the lefty swinger’s true future will be in the field and likely at second base but Morii has the right mindset to prove them wrong. He might not be the biggest prospect in the system but he’s easily among the most interesting. He’s still extremely young but it’s going to be exciting to see how he does in his first full year of professional baseball stateside.
The new nominee on the list is right-handed pitcher Ryan Cusick. The righty originally came over to the Athletics organization as part of the il-fated Matt Olson trade way back when. A former 1st-round pick, Cusick was a starter while climbing the minor league ladder but began stalling out in the upper parts of the minors. The team elected to shift him to a bullpen role last season in Double-A to mixed results. He’s made it to Triple-A in each of the past two seasons but for only one and two games, respectively. Cusick will be looking to settle into a role in the bullpen, and a big year could even propel him into the conversation for the big league club.
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
20: Ayden Johnson, SS
21. Shotaro Morii, P/SS
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.
Kade Morris, RHP
Expected level: Triple-A | Age 22
2024 stats (AA/AAA): 4.50 ERA, 136 IP, 121 K, 45 BB, 15 HR, 4.49 FIP
MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40
Morris runs up his four-seam fastball to about 95-96 mph and also throws a sinker with good arm-side run in the 92-95 range. His mid-80s slider has developed into an above-average secondary offering. His mid-70s curveball provides a good variation of pitch speeds, though he is still working to make it a more consistent pitch, along with his improving upper-80s changeup.
Morris is athletic with his 6-foot-3 frame. His competitive drive stands out whenever he takes the mound. Discovering the right arm slot that allows for the most consistency is the next big step in his development. How that pans out as he moves through the system will likely determine his long-term role, though he profiles as a back-end starter given his overall pitch mix and solid control.
Ryan Cusick, RHP
Expected level: Double-A| Age 25
2024 stats (AA): 4.79 ERA, 56 1⁄3 IP, 63 K, 33 BB, 4 HR, 4.17 FIP
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Cutter: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40
He moved from the rotation to a bullpen role in 2024, and the switch clearly paid off. Cusick began the year with an dismal 6.69 ERA in 37 2/3 starts working primarily as starter through July 12. He shifted to the ’pen full time after the break and rattled off 26 innings of 1.73 ERA ball with a 28.2% strikeout rate. His 11.8% walk rate in that time was still too high, but those rate stats are lightyears better than the ones he logged working as a starter early on (19.7 K%, 15.2 BB%).
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