by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
August 30, 2022
After originally joining the A’s organization as an area scout under the Billy Martin regime back in 1982, Grady Fuson rose through the ranks and eventually ended up serving as the A’s scouting director from 1995 until 2001. It proved to be a very fruitful period for the organization, when the team drafted such talented players as Eric Chavez, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Rich Harden.
He left the A’s at the end of 2001 to become the assistant general manager of the Texas Rangers and, after moving on to head up the San Diego Padres scouting department, Fuson eventually returned to the A’s over 12 years ago to serve as a special assistant to the general manager. And he’s since been honored by his baseball peers with prestigious awards for his service as a scout as well as for his contributions in player development.
Of course, many know Fuson as the scout in the cinematic version of Moneyball who has a dramatic confrontation with Billy Beane and ends up getting fired – though that’s not quite how it happened (which we chronicled here).
We were fortunate enough to catch up with Fuson earlier this week with less than a month left in the minor league season. And, as always, we were happy to have the opportunity to pick the brain of one of baseball’s top talent evaluators and get the inside scoop on some of the A’s top prospects. You can listen to our complete conversation on A’s Cast.
AF: I wanted to start at the top of the system with a couple of guys who’ve recently joined the big club, starting out with catcher Shea Langeliers. He came over from Atlanta in the offseason in the Matt Olson deal, had a great season at Las Vegas, hit great, played well behind the plate. Now he’s up in Oakland, seems to have gotten off to a good start there at the plate, looks like the kind of guy who could be the A’s catcher of the future we’re looking at. But can you tell me what you’ve seen out of him during the season that he’s been in the A’s system?
GF: Well, he came as advertised. This kid does it all. This kid, he’s a gamer, he’s got big tools with power and arm strength. He’s a tremendous athlete for a catcher. He’s probably one of the better runners next to Pache. This kid can really run, but he’s got a great approach, he’s put in good swings, he’s got an idea of the strike zone, and he’s just played super.
AF: It’s funny, you mentioned his running. I just saw some statistic recently about him actually, statistically, being one of the best baserunners on the current A’s team, and that’s not something you expect to see from a catcher.
GF: No, usually it doesn’t come with that position, but this kid’s special. He’s got a chance to be, I think, a star in our game.
AF: Well, let’s hope so. Another guy who just joined or rejoined the big club is center fielder Cristian Pache. He got off to a really rough start at the plate, went down to Vegas, got off to a good start there, then cooled down a little bit there too, but now he’s back up with the big club. Where do you think he’s at, and what do you think needs to happen with him to become the center fielder that the A’s really hoped he would be when they acquired him?
GF: Well, I mean, he’s still fairly young, and he’s got all those speed and defensive tools to be a star defender. It’s about getting things cleaned up at the plate. He’s got strength, he’s got a good swing when he’s on time. But I see a lot of timing issues there where he gets his foot down too late, he wants to swing when he strides, and it just disrupts a lot of timing and his approach, so that’s got to be cleaned up. He’s got to learn how to control the strike zone a little bit better, but there’s definitely upside there. We’ve just got to get to a point where we can get it to click.
AF: An interesting guy who recently came up to Las Vegas is Jordan Díaz. We’ve talked about him before. I think he reminds everyone a little bit of Renato Nunez in the sense that he can hit, he makes a lot of really loud contact. No one’s quite sure where he might end up position-wise but, man, he’s had a great season at the plate. He’s still very young, and there’s still a question about where he’s going to end up position-wise, but what have you seen out of Jordan Díaz this year?
GF: Well, Jordan’s always caught your eye as being hitterish, even as a young kid. I mean, he has hand speed, he has strength, but he’s just never controlled the strike zone. This is the year that he’s made the best strides as far as swinging at good pitches and laying off some tough breakers, and you’ve seen the byproduct of it. I mean, he hit well in Double-A – he hit homers. This defensive thing is going to be a work in progress. Just everything’s a little rough for him, and we don’t know where it’s going to end up, but Renato Nunez is not a bad call as far as a comp.
AF: He started out, like Renato, as a third baseman. He spent most of this year playing first base. It’s been interesting to see, the last week or so, they’ve actually had him playing at second base in Vegas, which is kind of surprising. I don’t know your feelings about that.
GF: Well, that’s just because of the clientele that’s currently on the team, and last night he played third and threw two balls away over there. So, it held up better at first base in Double-A. Obviously, we have other options in first base in Triple-A currently with some other guys, but I think first base, we’ve even shoved him into left field a little bit to see how that’s going to play. I think he might do some of that in winter ball down in Colombia. So, we’ll see. But that’s definitely going to hold him back as far as just gaining momentum to be forced onto the big league club.
AF: Well, fortunately, he is still young, so there is some time. And I guess it’s a good thing there’s always the designated hitter spot too. A pitcher at Vegas of interest to me is Hogan Harris. You guys drafted him a few years ago in the third round, and most of his time in the system, he’s been sidelined due to injuries. And this year, he’s been healthy, he’s been going out in limited stints, maybe four innings at a time. But he started out at Midland, pitched really well there, now he’s up at Vegas getting a shot at Triple-A. But how do you feel about where Hogan Harris is at now that he’s finally been healthy this season and back on the bump?
GF: Well, it’s been a long road back for him, and he finally got healthy. We had him in the [Arizona] Fall League last year, and if he would’ve thrown the baseball over the plate in the Fall League, we were going to probably put him on the 40-man roster. He’s got very good stuff. He touches 96s, he’s got a great curveball, a good changeup but, to me, he overthrows way too much. He should be a guy that’s pitching at 92-93, staying on line, keeping his direction, commanding the baseball. And once he does that, he’s a big leaguer. We tinkered with this in spring training this year. I asked him just to go out there and throw 90 miles an hour and stay on line, and it was a beautiful thing to see. He just carved them up. But, as with a lot of young pitchers, they want that velo, and they start raring back trying to get a little bit more, and their delivery gets off line and things get erratic. And that’s the only thing he’s got left to kind of clean up before he gets his shot.
AF: Well, I think even with Sandy Koufax, he didn’t become as successful as he was until he actually stopped throwing as hard as he possibly could.
GF: Yeah, a lot of guys, [Greg] Maddux, there’s a lot of them. People forget how hard Maddux threw when he was young.
AF: Yeah, you’re right. I mean, it’s easy to get obsessed with velo, but throwing as hard as you possibly can is not always the route to success.
GF: No, not at all.
AF: Now I want to drop down to Double-A because it seems like there’s a lot of really intriguing prospects at Midland this year, guys who could potentially form the core of an A’s team in a couple years. And one guy there I wanted to start out talking about is your former first-round pick Tyler Soderstrom. He got off to a bit of a rough start at Lansing, then he kind of got into gear. He’s certainly been hitting with power all year – he’s shown that natural power that he’s got. And he’s been splitting time between catcher and first base this year, which is interesting as well. But could you talk a little bit about where you feel Tyler Soderstrom’s development is at at this point and where you feel he’s at defensively and position-wise going forward?
GF: Well, first of all, your initial comment about that team, to me, that’s kind of the best team if you want to go down and take a look at a bunch of our top-level prospects, especially now that we have those pitchers back that were involved in those trades that are now healthy or getting healthy. But, as far as Tyler, things were still kind of hit and miss the first half of the year with his attitude a little bit and his frustration when he didn’t hit and how he took it behind the plate. I think [Lansing manager] Phil Pohl really did a good job with him as far as how to handle that, how to get some maturity going out of him, and things have really taken off. Now, with Bobby Crosby, our manager in Double-A, Bobby’s saying nothing but great things about him every night – his attitude, the way he’s handling pitchers. We all have seen this kid receive and catch and throw very well at times when he’s really focused, and currently he’s on a nice two-month run of really getting serious about catching and working with pitchers, understanding a game plan and not letting his offense disrupt him and take it behind the plate. So, if that continues, the sky’s the limit with Tyler. He’s a hitter, he’s got power, he plays the game aggressively. And if he stays behind the plate, that’s an added plus. But he’s athletic enough to go to first, he’s athletic enough to go to third. So, Tyler gives you a lot of options down the road.
AF: Do you think, going forward, you’re going to continue to play him maybe half time at catcher and half time at first or somewhere else in the field just to keep those options open?
GF: Well, you’ve got Kyle McCann there too, so they’re splitting time – and McCann has made some good strides this year as well, so you’ve got to keep them both playing. And who knows? By the time they get to the big leagues, if we’ve got Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom playing at the same time, then Tyler maybe plays somewhere else. The good thing about both those kids is the athleticism that they bring. I mean, I’ve even mentioned, with Langeliers coming up, if he’s not going to catch with [Sean] Murphy, I mean, stick him in left field. Let him get some at-bats playing out there. I know he can run, and he can really throw. Can he see a fly ball? That I don’t know, I’ve never hit him one, but my gut tells me yes.
AF: Yeah, having too many guys who can catch is a good problem to have I guess.
GF: Yeah, sure.
AF: You brought up the next guy I wanted to ask you about actually, because you’ve got another intriguing catcher there at Midland this year, and that’s Kyle McCann. Last year, he really struggled at Midland. This year, he’s really just it turned it around in an incredible way. He’s been one of the best hitters there in Midland. He, again, has been splitting time between catcher and first base, but he’s shown a tremendous amount of power this year, he’s been taking walks and getting on base. He seems like he’s really put himself on the map this season, but tell me what you’ve seen out of Kyle McCann and the progress he’s made this year.
GF: Yeah, I think most of us knew last year, sending him to Double-A was a big push, a big push and a big ask, and he handled it as good as somebody getting his brains beat out every night could. He’s a tremendous teammate, and he’s a leader of that squad down there. He comes to play every night, and he’s made very good strides with his receiving ability. His arm’s a little light, and it’s a little non-accurate at times, but he’s doing a much better job at the plate. He’s competing, his at-bats are competitive. We all know the reason we drafted him was because of the monster power, and he’s just got to get a little bit more on time, recognize breaking balls a little better. He has trouble hitting the spin, when he encounters the off-speed breaking ball type stuff. And we tried to get him to just jump on fastballs, get those fastballs and hit them, and he’s done a very good job.
AF: Well, another guy there at Midland who’s had a really nice season is your second-round draft pick last year, and that’s Zack Gelof. He originally was drafted as a third baseman, he’s been playing a lot of second base lately. But he looks like one of those guys who maybe could be the cornerstone of a future A’s lineup based on just what he’s done in his first full season in pro ball. But what have your impressions been of Zack Gelof at Midland?
GF: Similar to everything you just said. This kid’s an athlete – he’s got a body, he’s built, he’s strong. He’s a runner, he’s got power, he uses the whole field. We’re pretty convinced that second base is the spot we want to groom him for at this time. The third base thing, he’s not a bad defender with the glove, but he’s got a little bit of a lower arm slot…but his arm slot’s perfect for second base with pivots and low three-quarter arm action throws. It’s even been talked about possible center field. This guy can get after a baseball, but this is another kid that if you were to put a definite upside and coming quick label on him, he’s it.
AF: Yeah, it seems like it hasn’t taken him much time to adjust to the pro game so far. Another guy there at Midland who kind of seems to be in the Zack Gelof mold is another guy you drafted last year. I think he was your seventh-round pick, and that’s Brett Harris. He started out at Lansing playing third there and got off to a tremendous start, moved up to Midland and really didn’t miss much of a beat…It seems like he’s very much in a similar mold to Gelof and a guy who hasn’t taken much time to adapt to the pro game at all.
GF: A little bit different to Gelof, he’s not quite the athlete that Gelof is, but he’s a very good player. He’s a steal as a seventh-round pick in our business. He’s got strength, he’s got a good approach. I remember last year in mini-camp when we brought all those guys into Arizona, just sitting there with him for a week, week and a half, I thought Harris had the best approach of all of them at the time. But another very good pickup, a good defender, accurate arm, has got knowledge and feel and instinct for the game and very hitterish.
AF: Yeah, he just seems to have hit at whatever level he’s been at all year long. Another guy there at Midland is your former first-round pick Logan Davidson, the shortstop, and this is his second season at Midland. He got off to a good start, looked like he made some really good improvements, I think he had a bit of an injury, and he’s cooled off a bit later in the season. I think he’s hitting around .240 now, but where do we feel Logan Davidson’s at at this stage of the game?
GF: He’s not in a bad spot. I mean, he’s not killing it. He’s quietly hit home runs, and he’s played very good defense. Everybody knows he is a very solid defender with a very, very accurate arm. Does he stay at short with what we’ve got coming up? Does he move over to third? Who knows where this goes, but Logan’s just got to watch out for the strikeout rate. This is the second, third year in a row now where it’s been high, and those things don’t change often when they get to the big leagues, those strikeout rates, so it’s time for him to take that next step. Next year’s going to be a big, big year for him, whether he moves up to Triple-A or whether he has to repeat. But I think he’s earned the right, at some point, to get to Triple-A and we’re going to figure it all out from there.
AF: Yeah, I guess, sometimes you just have to challenge them and see how they respond, right?
GF: Yeah, exactly.
AF: Another very interesting guy at Midland this year is Max Schuemann. He was probably one of the best hitters in the system in the first half, and he played all over the field – second base, shortstop, center field, all over the outfield. He got a brief look at Vegas, struggled in a very brief time there, was sent back down to Midland, now he’s on the injured list. But can you tell me what you’ve seen out of Max Schuemann and if you foresee him as the kind of guy who could maybe be a sort of useful utility player playing all over the field in the major leagues at some point, if he’s got what it takes to do that?
GF: Yeah, very much so. He’s kind of like a Jonah Bride – very versatile, can play a lot of positions. His approach the last two years has completely changed. He was one of our Seal Team Six makeover guys in Instructional League a few years back, and he’s taken off from there. It’s not big power, but he’s hitterish. He uses the whole field, he usually controls the strike zone very good, gets his walks, gets on base, kind of a run-scoring guy. But, yeah, he’s got an opportunity, in the right situation, to certainly be a versatile utility right-handed bat off the bench type of guy in the big leagues.
AF: It would be good to see. He’s a fun player. He’s also got a lot of speed and is frequently leading the system in stolen bases as well.
GF: Yeah, well, it’s more instinct over speed. He can run, but he’s not a flyer. But he’s just got tremendous instincts on the bases and he picks up reads.
AF: Yeah, it seems like he’s a very smart player all around, right?
GF: Yeah, very much so.
AF: One of the pitchers in your system who’s probably made some of the biggest improvements this year is Jeff Criswell. He was your second-round pick a couple years ago. He always had big stuff, but it was a matter of him just harnessing it, and it seems like he’s developed a little better command this year. He was successful at Lansing, now he’s been doing a good job at Midland. But where do you feel that Jeff Criswell’s at in his development at this stage of the season?
GF: Well, to some degree, he’s very similar to Hogan Harris, who we just talked about. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s got velocity, he’s got a breaking ball, he’s got a changeup. But he’s another guy that just struggles with his delivery, his direction down the line, and the command is kind of hit and miss. So, that’s basically all we work on with him is trying to get him to stay on line longer, finish down that hill so that you can have improved command. And once he gets to that, or if he does, he’s got a chance to be really good. If he doesn’t, then…he’s probably a quality bullpen piece for you.
AF: What about those two guys you briefly mentioned earlier – J.T. Ginn and Ryan Cusick? They were two guys you picked up in the offseason in the deals, both high-profile prospects. They both struggled a little bit at Midland, then they both had to deal with injuries, now they’re finally out there back on the bump again. Where do you feel those guys are at and what do you think we might be able to anticipate from them?
GF: Well, healthy, they’re both upside guys. They’re both different. Cusick’s a bigger man, touches 100, but all his secondary pitches need a lot of work. He really never used a changeup until he came with us. His slider flashes some bite and depth, but to turn him into a pitcher is going to be a process. In the end, he really has a chance to have really good command. And he’s got a nasty sinker, 93-94, maybe 95, at times – so, sinker, slider, change for him. So, both these kids, they’ve got good arms, the chance for good stuff. There’s upside to them both.
AF: I want to ask you about a couple guys we’ve been talking about for many, many years now at this point, and that’s Austin Beck and Lazaro Armenteros. Those are two guys, very high-profile prospects for a long time. Neither of them has developed as people would hope. I think they’re both 23 now. They both showed some improvement this year, but where do we feel these guys are at? What’s left for us to assess of those two guys at this point?
GF: Well, Austin Beck’s been hurt on and off all year, so it’s kind of a tough season to really judge him. But he defended well in Lansing. There were flashes, there were moments where we thought, “Here he comes. He’s going to make some strides.” And then it just kind of reverts back. Both him and Laz, to me, they’re just stuck. We’re waiting for them to make a move, to get better. It’s swing and miss – they both come with high levels of swing and miss and generic walk rates. Laz’s defense is still hit and miss. He’s been hurt on and off this year as well. He’s got his fair amount of homers, but it’s not overly impactful. He’s hitting .260, but the strikeout rate is really setting him back. And it’s just recognizing the breaking ball that is 100% of the issue. But other than that, I don’t know what to say. They’ve both been hurt so much this season that they’ve never really had the time to get out there and play every day, get rolling, and get something going good. So, they’re just kind of sitting there and kind of stuck a little bit.
AF: Well, I’m sure next season will be a key determining factor on how things go for those two former high-profile prospects.
GF: Yeah, they’ve both been here for a while now, and it’s time to make your move, or people pass you by.
AF: Exactly. You can’t stay stagnant in this game, that’s for sure. On the opposite side of the coin, a guy who really has just seemed to make tremendous progress this year is your fourth-round pick from last year who, at this point, looks like maybe he was a bit of a steal in the fourth round, and that’s outfielder Denzel Clarke. He got off to a tremendous start in Stockton, moved up to Lansing. The guy has really incredible tools. He’s shown a lot of speed, a lot of power. He’s a pretty exciting player to watch on the field. But what have you seen out of Denzel Clarke this season?
GF: Well, you’re right – he’s an exciting kid to watch. When I left spring training, I waited for about three weeks to go into Stockton. I was surprised how good he was competing, knowing that he had a lot of excess moves and odd moves in his approach to hitting. But he was handling breaking balls pretty good in Stockton and hammering some fastballs, lighting up with some power numbers, stealing – all the things we knew he could do – steal bags, play the heck out of center field. He’s just an awesome athlete. And then, when I saw him in Lansing, he was just kind of out of sorts for a while when he first got there…He really struggled, got down on himself a little bit. He’s recovered a little bit from there, but there’s always going to be some odd moves to his hitting approach that’s going to need some maintenance. It’s his first full year, and we’re actually going to bring him back to Instructional League again to see if we can minimize some of those moves and get some upside going, because he does have some big upside. This kid could hit it out, he could really defend.
AF: Okay, let’s talk about another guy at Lansing right now, and that’s your first-round draft pick from last year, Max Muncy. He was 19 for most of this season – I think he just turned 20. Got off to a great start at Stockton, has shown tremendous power, is getting on base, playing pretty good shortstop. As a very young kid, you’ve got to be pleased with what you’ve seen out of your first-round draft pick in his first full season this year.
GF: Yeah, no doubt. His development is on time. If you just look at his overall numbers, with the exception of the homer numbers, they’re not going to wow you. He’s got high strikeout numbers, he’s hitting .220-.230 wherever he goes. He’s just a young kid who wants to over attack everything thrown at him but, when it’s all said and done, he’s going to be able to hit a lot of different pitches. But we’re just trying to get him to slow down and eliminate some of the monster hacks, get his feet on the ground a little bit better at short. He can make the ESPN highlight play and then turn around like most young kids and kick two routine ground balls in a row. But he’s got a great attitude, he’s a gamer, he comes to play every day. His numbers aren’t going to look overly impactful after his one year, but this kid’s going to be a good player when it’s all said and done.
AF: Yeah, certainly the power he’s shown as a young kid has shown a lot of promise, and I imagine he’s only going to get stronger. Another interesting, under-the-radar guy who’s there at Lansing now was your ninth-round draft pick last year, catcher Shane McGuire. He just showed tremendous ability to get on base at Stockton, then he got moved up to Lansing. He’s got one of the highest on-base percentages in the whole system this season, and he’s a left-handed hitting catcher. Can you talk a little bit about what you’ve seen out of Shane McGuire this year?
GF: Yeah, without a doubt, he’s the best player in our system as far as walk-to-strikeout rate. He’s caught well. He was hurt for a while too – he lost a month and a half, two months. Improving as a receiver, average arm. He’s always been hitterish – that’s kind of why we took him – but we’re just not getting any power out of him, which is okay right now. This is his first full year. But we started a little bit last year, and it didn’t turn out too well, but we’re just trying to create a little bit more separation so that he can get to some more damage in his game. But he’s used the whole field, a lot of singles, not a lot of damage. But this kid doesn’t strike out and he walks and gets on base.
AF: That’s certainly a good place to start anyway! There’s a couple of pitchers at Lansing I wanted to ask you about. One is Kyle Virbitsky. He started out at Stockton, he was recently promoted to Lansing, and he’s been leading the system in strikeouts for a while now. He wasn’t a particularly high draft pick, but he’s been having a good season. Can you just tell me what you’ve seen out of Kyle Virbitsky thus far?
GF: Yeah, he’s taken off with his punchouts…but a big physical kid, decent arm, 92s-93s, fair breaking ball, never really used his changeup. He’s another guy that, in Stockton, we shoved that changeup down their throats to get them to use it. It’s kind of hit and miss, and now he’s starting to use it. I think the other night he threw it 10-11 times, and he’s really improved his command, and he’s getting strikeouts on his breaker and his fastballs. So, that whole little crew there that started out in Stockton – Blake Beers, Virbitsky, Mitch Myers, even Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang before he got hurt – not a high-draft-pick group of guys that all bring something to the party.
AF: Yeah, some of those guys, like Virbitsky, seem to really be putting themselves on the map this year. Another interesting, under-the-radar guy at Lansing is the left-hander Jack Owen. I know he was signed as an undrafted free agent a couple years ago, and I think he came recommended by Tim Hudson. He started out the year pitching really well out of the Stockton bullpen, and now he’s been pitching really well out of the Lansing rotation. He’s another guy who’s put up big strikeout numbers.
GF: Yeah, he’s like David Leal in a way. Just doesn’t throw very hard, but he’s a strike-thrower. And if you throw strikes in the bottom of the minor league system, you’re going to win games. And with him, he can land a breaking ball as well. So, you don’t put him in that stuff category, you put him in the pitcher category. And he’s going to have to earn every one of his promotions. But, just like he did this year, who knows when the game’s going to stop him?
AF: Yeah, it’s been great to see what he’s been able to do this year. Let’s wrap up touching on a couple of guys who are down at Stockton right now. And one guy who seems to have been coming on a bit strong in the second half is Junior Perez. He’s a very young outfielder, and this is his second season in Stockton. His game was kind of raw, there were a lot of things to figure out, but it seems like he’s made some strides in the second half. I was curious to get your take on where Junior Perez is at this stage of the game.
GF: He has made some strides. There’s a different look in his eye. I think he’s jumped a level up with his confidence. He’s playing much more aggressively. He’s really running the bases hard, stealing bags, getting after balls he didn’t get after a year ago in the outfield. He’s always had a good arm. The raw power’s always been there and.,,the swing and miss is the biggest concern. He’s a physical kid, but he’s just got to learn how to recognize and either lay off or square up better offspeed pitches, breaking balls – that’s his biggest issue. But he’s a gamer, he plays hard, he’s still young, so it’s been good to see him at least make some strides this year and not get stuck.
AF: The other interesting name at Stockton at this point is your first-round draft pick this year, another catcher to add to the system, Daniel Susac. It seemed like the A’s were pretty happy to have him still available when they got to make their first-round pick this year. He’s a big catcher, and he certainly seems like he could develop into a really intriguing hitter. But what have you seen out of first-round pick Daniel Susac thus far?
GF: Well, he kind of comes with a Jonah Heim look – a big six-foot-four receiver. Not the greatest athletic skills, but the skills needed for that position, he has. He’s only going to get better as a receiver. He’s a very good thrower, especially from his knees. You can tell this guy’s thrown like that quite a bit…He’s got big, raw power – that’s visible the first time you see him take BP. Seems like he’s into the game, he’s got a little baseball IQ, but tends to want to hit out over his front side a little bit. He needs to learn how to stay back, reorganize his stride move so that he sees breaking balls a bit better. But the upside they talked about this guy in the draft is really visible with what you see now. I’m anxious to get to instructs and see him play some more.
AF: Well, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us about these guys. With the A’s in the midst of a rebuild, I think it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on who may be forming the core of the big league club going forward. And I think a lot of the guys that we talked about today are likely to be in that crew.
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