A’s Draft 3 High School Infielders on Day 1 of 2012 Amateur Draft

A’s GM Billy Beane: Jeremy Bonderman’s not on that list, is he?

Thanks to the loss of free agent outfielders Josh Willingham and David DeJesus, the A’s were fortunate to have 3 picks coming to them before the 2^nd round of this year’s amateur player draft. Of course, the A’s are known for preferring to focus on college players, having not taken a high school player in the 1^st round since selecting Jeremy Bonderman way back in 2001. But with a lack of college talent available in this year’s draft, the A’s decided to go with 3 talented high school infielders with their first 3 selections.

The organization’s first 2 picks – Addison Russell and Daniel Robertson – primarily played shortstop in their senior seasons in high school, but it’s expected that one of them will eventually end up being shifted to third base. The A’s have 2 selections coming to them in the 2^nd round, which will be taking place on Tuesday. So stay tuned for more tomorrow. But in the meantime, here’s the basic lowdown on the A’s first 3 picks of the 2012 amateur draft who could potentially end up forming the core of the A’s infield in, hmmm, let’s say 2017. Whatever happens, you know we’ll be following their progress every step of the way right here on A’s Farm…

#1 (11^th Overall)

Addison Russell

Shortstop

Pace High School / Pace, Florida

Age: 18

6’1” / 210 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2012 High School Stats: .358 AVG / .532 OBP / .815 SLG

Let’s Go To The Video: Addison Russell