Rounding up Day 2 of the MLB Draft for the Oakland Athletics

The A’s mostly stuck with their preference for college hitters in the second day of the draft.

After a strong Day 1 of the 2024 MLB Draft, in which they nabbed a couple of high-upside bats in Nick Kurtz and Tommy White, as well as a potential mid-rotation starter with Gage Jump, the A’s continued to go hitter-heavy with their second day of drafting. Of their eight Day 2 draftees, only two were pitchers, while Oakland took 3 infielders, 2 outfielders, and 1 catcher with the rest of their picks. The A’s also stuck with their preference for college players, only picking two high-schoolers so far.

3rd Round, No. 75: SS Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, Rutgers University

Age/Height/Weight: 21 years old, 6’ 0”, 190 lbs

MLB Pipeline Ranking: 90

With their first pick on Day 2 of the 2024 Draft, the A’s went with a Jacob-Wilson-type Kuroda-Grauer. Like Oakland’s top prospect, the 21-year-old has the makings of a pure hitter who can play a solid middle infield. In his final season at Wake Forest, the 21-year-old put his elite bat-to-ball skills on display, hitting .428 while striking out a mere 7% of the time. His power is still developing but there’s hope he can become at least a 15-homer threat. He’s not quite the defender that Wilson is but he’s a faster runner, racking up 24 stolen bases in just 53 games. His average arm may necessitate a move to second base in the future.

4th Round, No. 104: OF Rodney Green, UC Berkeley

Age/Height/Weight: 21 years old, 6’ 3”, 190 lbs

MLB Pipeline Ranking: 132

Raised in Richmond and spending his college years at Cal, Green is a East Bay kid through-and-through with a heavy bat and quick legs. The lefty outfielder is known for his power-speed combination, which got him 14 homers and steal 29 bags over 257 PAs in his sophomore year. He also gets on base a ton, ending his final season with a .409 OBP despite only hitting .267. The latter figure exhibits the concerns scouts had about his swing-and-miss, as he struck out 28% of the time. His speed allows him to cover a lot of ground in center field but there’s concern about his arm, which has improved since high school but still sits average. Think of him as a college Henry Bolte.

5th Round, No. 137: RHP Sam Stuhr, University of Portland

Age/Height/Weight: 21 years old, 6’ 1”, 195 lbs

MLB Pipeline Ranking: 184

Ranked as high as 88th by Keith Law at The Athletic, Stuhr is a talented righty with a lot of talent but not as much experience. After two years of bouncing around colleges with no allotted playing time, he finally found his groove at Portland, throwing 80 innings over 1y6 starts and striking out 100 batters along the way. His main weapons are a 94-97 mph four-seamer and an effective 84-87 mph slider. His secondary offerings still need to develop and he doesn’t have the best command, which instantly makes you think future reliever. But with actual playing time on the mound, he has the chance to develop into at least a backend rotation guy.

6th Round, No. 166: RHP Josiah Romeo, Mayfield Secondary School

Age/Height/Weight: 18 years old, 6’ 3”, 195 lbs

MLB Pipeline Ranking: 237

As Oakland’s last player on MLB Pipeline’s top 250, Romeo is also the A’s first high schooler selected in this class. The Ontario native only threw 90-92 with his fastball in high school, but he got that up as high as 94 in the Draft League and has more room to get stronger. His best pitch is a low-80s slider, while he’s still developing his changeup. His approach is more advanced than his stuff, which the A’s hope will make progress with age and experience.

7th Round, No. 196: C Dylan Fien, Great Oak High School

Age/Height/Weight: 18 years old, 6’ 3”, 210 lbs

It’s not an Oakland A’s draft until they take a catcher. Fien, a big switch-hitter from Temecula, has raw power from both sides, especially as a righty, but he’s considered a better overall hitter when he hits left-handed, drawing comparisons to former A’s catcher and All-Star Jonah Heim. He was listed as a shortstop going into the draft but Oakland took him as a catcher, where he has solid fundamentals. He’s verbally committed to play at UCLA but the A’s hope to sway him into their minor league system.

8th Round, No. 226: 3B Davis Diaz, Vanderbilt University

Age/Height/Weight: 21 years old, 5’ 11”, 188 lbs

Originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 12th round of the 2021 Draft, Diaz opted to instead play 3 years at Vanderbilt, where he flashed a strong glove at third base, even getting reps at shortstop and second base. Curiously, he’s listed as a catcher in MLB’s draft tracker but he didn’t play a single inning there throughout college. While he doesn’t strike out a ton, his hit and power tools are middling so he’s likely a defense-first type.

9th Round, No. 256: 3B Jared Sprague-Lott, University of Arkansas

Age/Height/Weight: 22 years old, 6’ 0”, 195 lbs

The second of Oakland’s back-to-back college third baseman picks, Sprague-Lott is also considered a strong defender, earning Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team honors. He also has some pop in his bat, hitting .290/.425/.491 in his senior year. He only struck out once more than he walked, both rates coming in at a strong 16.8% clip. Like Diaz, he has experience at both middle infield positions as well.

10th Round, No. 286: OF Cameron Leary, Boston College

Age/Height/Weight: 22 years old, 6’ 1”, 205 lbs

For their last pick of Day 2 of the 2024 Draft, the A’s went with another college senior in Leary. He’s their first outfield selection since Green in the 4th round, who he shares a lot of similarities with. His power-speed combo allowed him to 15 homers and steal 23 bases in 251 PAs. While he struck out 24% of the time, he also walked in a whopping 21% of his appearances, showing impressive discipline at the plate. Also like Green, he has the speed to roam center but has a below-average arm that may make him better suited for left field.