by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
June 11, 2020
With this year’s amateur draft limited to just five rounds, teams were able to complete their draft selections in just two days instead of three this year. And with the second day of the draft wrapping up on Thursday night, it’s time to take a look at the A’s five picks from the 2020 draft.
The A’s had the 26th overall pick this year. And after selecting a high school hitter with their top pick on Monday, the A’s took three college pitchers and one college hitter with their four picks on Thursday.
Unfortunately, unlike in past years, we might not be getting the chance to see any of these players in action until next spring. But, hopefully, it will be worth the wait! In the meantime, let’s take a quick look at what we do know about some of the team’s top new talents…
1st Round
Tyler Soderstrom
Catcher
Turlock High School
Age: 18 / Height: 6’2″ / Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats: Left / Throws: Right
2017-20 High School: 244 AB/7 HR/37 BB/19 K/.373 AVG/.458 OBP/.569 SLG
The A’s held the 26th overall pick in this year’s draft and, when it turned out that Turlock High catcher Tyler Soderstrom was still available when it came time to make their selection, the team decided to make the young backstop its first pick of the draft. The last time the A’s took a high school player in the first round was when they made outfielder Austin Beck their top pick in 2017. Soderstrom was this year’s 18th-ranked prospect by Baseball America. He was the top-ranked high school catcher in this year’s draft, and A’s special assistant Grady Fuson called Soderstrom “the total package.” The 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver, who was named the Gatorade California Player of the Year for 2019-20, was only able to play in five games for Turlock High this year before the season ended early, but he batted .450 with four home runs and a 1.340 OPS in 28 games as a junior and had a .373 career average over 82 games in his high school career. Soderstrom is widely viewed as a bat-first catcher. He’s mentioned All-Stars Christian Yelich and Cody Bellinger as a couple of his hitting role models, and former Colorado general manager Dan O’Dowd has compared him to former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton. While the 18-year-old is a pretty polished hitter for a high school player and possesses some real power potential, he’s also considered to be fairly athletic and shows decent speed for a catcher. There’s no question that he has a strong throwing arm, but many scouts have expressed doubts about his ability to stick behind the plate. And if he doesn’t, then he could always be a fit at first base or third base or in a corner outfield position. The A’s seem to be committed to giving him every chance to remain behind the plate though. Soderstrom has committed to play at UCLA, but the A’s seem confident that they’ll be able to bring the local boy into the fold.
2nd Round
Right-Handed Pitcher
University of Michigan
Age: 21 / Height: 6’4″ / Weight: 225 lbs.
Throws: Right / Bats: Right
2018-20 College: 162.1 IP/124 H/52 ER/78 BB/174 K/2.88 ERA/1.24 WHIP
The A’s went with a college pitcher, Jeff Criswell out of Michigan, with their second-round pick in this year’s draft. Criswell is a big, strong, hard-throwing, 21-year-old righty who has both started and relieved at Michigan. He pitched strictly out of the bullpen in his freshman year in 2018 when he posted a 2.23 ERA before joining the starting rotation as a sophomore in 2019 when he put up a 2.74 ERA in 95 1/3 innings. He then worked out of the bullpen in the College World Series before rejoining the rotation for the abbreviated 2020 season when he notched 26 strikeouts in 24 innings of work. Criswell throws a sinking fastball in the mid-90s that he pairs with a solid slider and changeup. The big righty has good stuff, but he can be a bit wild at times and could benefit from better command. The good news is that he’s improved his walk rate each season, going from 5.3 BB/9 in 2018 to 4.2 BB/9 in 2019 to 3.4 BB/9 in 2020, and he’s averaged 9.6 K/9 over his college career. Criswell was this year’s 53rd-ranked prospect by Baseball America, and he has the potential to develop into a hard-throwing middle-of-the-rotation starter, but he could also have what it takes to serve as a power arm out of the bullpen if needed.
3rd Round
Outfielder
Georgia Tech
Age: 20 / Height: 6’0″ / Weight: 171 lbs.
Bats: Right / Throws: Right
2018-20 College: 318 AB/3 HR/44 BB/41 K/.374 AVG/.465 OBP/.459 SLG
The A’s surprised many draft observers when they selected Georgia Tech outfielder Michael Guldberg with their third-round pick on Thursday. Guldberg was the 310th-ranked prospect by Baseball America this year. The outfielder fits the A’s mold as a high on-base guy, putting up an impressive .465 on-base percentage over 104 college games. Guldberg is a pure contact hitter without much power. He compiled fewer strikeouts than walks while batting .374 and notching just three home runs in his college career. Guldberg put up the second-best batting average in the ACC in 2019 and was leading the ACC with a .450 average when the 2020 season came to an early end. The outfielder also possesses above-average speed and profiles as a potential #2-type hitter. He suffered a shoulder injury in his freshman year, which led him to serve in the designated hitter role for much of the 2019 season and may have also diminished his draft stock a bit. Guldberg has spent time in center field and gotten into some games at first base and second base as well, but he probably profiles best as a left fielder in the majors.
4th Round
Right-Handed Pitcher
University of Oklahoma
Age: 21 / Height: 6’2″ / Weight: 189 lbs.
Throws: Right / Bats: Right
2018-20 College: 142.2 IP/123 H/49 ER/58 BB/157 K/3.09 ERA/1.27 WHIP
The A’s turned their attention back to college pitchers when they took Dane Acker out of Oklahoma with their fourth-round pick on Thursday. The righty pitched primarily out of the bullpen in his freshman year at Rice in 2018. He then joined the starting rotation at San Jacinto Junior College in 2019 where he posted a 2.36 ERA in 14 starts before moving on to Oklahoma for the 2020 season. Acker was only able to make four starts before the season was cut short, but he did manage to impress by throwing a nine-inning no-hitter against LSU in March. The 21-year-old works with a four-pitch mix and benefits from solid command. He throws a low-90s sinking fastball that he mixes with a decent slider, a big breaking curveball and a fading changeup. Acker, who was listed as this year’s 134th-ranked prospect by Baseball America, definitely profiles as more of a pitcher than a thrower. And A’s special assistant Grady Fuson praised his delivery and believes the A’s may be able to amp up his velocity a bit as well.
5th Round
Right-Handed Pitcher
University of Washington
Age: 21 / Height: 6’5″ / Weight: 210 lbs.
Throws: Right / Bats: Right
2018-20 College: 121.2 IP/118 H/38 ER/59 BB/135 K/2.81 ERA/1.45 WHIP
The A’s managed to snap up another promising young college arm with their final pick in this year’s abbreviated draft on Thursday. Baseball America listed Stevie Emanuels as this year’s 104th-ranked prospect. The 6-foot-5 hurler worked primarily out of the bullpen for Washington in his freshman and sophomore seasons in 2018 and 2019, notching 97 strikeouts in 99 innings before moving into the starting rotation in 2020. And he got off to a great start before the season came to an abrupt end, posting an ERA of just 0.79 over 4 starts while striking out 38 in 22 2/3 innings of work. The righty throws a fastball in the low-90s that occasionally hits the mid-90s and flashes a developing slider and curveball to go along with a decent changeup. Emanuels has averaged 10 K/9 over his college career. He may be able to add more velocity as he develops, and the A’s will give him every opportunity to prove himself as a starter.
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