Best A’s Draft Picks Of The 2010s
Jun 2, 2019, 10:03 PM | Updated: 10:04 pm
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
With the A’s currently on a five-game losing streak, the front office will get the chance over the next several days to ignore the current situation and focus on the future.
The MLB First-Year Player Draft begins Monday and the Athletics hold the 29th overall pick. Oakland has done a great job in drafts past from Eric Chavez to Barry Zito.
Here are the best players they’ve drafted since 2010:
Sonny Gray (2011, round 1, pick 18)
Gray, now with the Reds, was a Cy Young-caliber pitcher for the A’s from 2013 to 2017. In his four-plus seasons with Oakland, Gray finished with a 44-36 record with a 3.42 ERA and 607 strikeouts. He finished third in Cy Young voting in 2015.
Matt Olson (2012, pick 47)
Olson has turned into one of the Athletics best power bats. After spending five seasons in the farm system, Olson got the call in 2016 playing in just 11 games. In 2017, he played in 59 total games hitting 24 home runs in 216 plate appearances. He became the full-time starter in 2018, playing in all 162 games hitting 29 homers and winning a gold glove.
Matt Chapman (2014, round 1, pick 25)
Chapman has developed into the best defensive third baseman in baseball. In 2018, he won a Gold Glove, the Platinum Glove, and the Wilson Overall Defensive Player awards. His bat has also been valuable for Oakland, hitting 24 home runs last season and hitting 15 through just 58 games this season.
