By Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
September 20, 2020
After spending 14 seasons managing in the independent leagues, Fran Riordan joined the A’s organization in 2015 when he was brought on board to skipper Beloit, the A’s affiliate in the Class-A Midwest League.
After two seasons with the Snappers, Riordan then led Double-A Midland to its fourth straight Texas League championship in 2017 before overseeing the A’s Triple-A affiliate in Nashville in 2018 and then piloting the team’s top affiliate in Las Vegas to a first-place finish in the PCL South division last season, when he was named the Pacific Coast League manager of the year.
He was all set to return to Las Vegas this season before the minor league season was cancelled. Instead, he ended up spending the summer as part of the coaching staff at the A’s alternate camp in San Jose, working with some of the team’s most promising young players. We talked to Riordan just after the alternate camp closed this past weekend and got his insights on the whole experience as well as some of the A’s top prospects…
AF: As we all know, it’s been a rather strange year. You were planning on spending your summer in Las Vegas rather than in San Jose. But, obviously, it’s better to be on the field somewhere than nowhere. So, what’s this whole experience been like for you, spending your summer at the alternate camp there in San Jose?
FR: Well, with the situation with COVID-19 and the suspension of the minor league season, everyone was up in the air about what we were going to do and how we were going to spend our summers in baseball and away from baseball. So, when the alternate site opened up and there’s some coaches that got tasked with being there to monitor the development and make sure these guys were ready to help in the big leagues, it was a huge opportunity just to be on the field again and to be with the guys. We settled on San Jose as our alternate site, and it was quite an experience. Two and a half months of being with the same guys every day and going through the grind and just experiencing something that none of us had ever experienced before, either from the staff side or the player side, was just really interesting – and we had a great time.
AF: Yeah, it’s definitely one of those things you have to make up as you go along, because there’s never been anything quite like this before. A lot of these guys who were there in camp would have been on your Triple-A roster there in Las Vegas. That’s the last stop before guys get to the major leagues, so a lot of those guys are really missing some critical development time this year. But you have a different environment there. Do you think there are any positives that might come out of this environment that they’ve been in this year?
FR: I absolutely do, and this is something that the staff talked about quite a bit. You have the younger players – Robert Puason, Tyler Soderstrom, our first-round draft pick this year, Brayan Buelvas, another kid that only has one half season in the Arizona League – guys that were around older players every day and got to see them work and got to see their habits and got to see better pitching and got to play at a speed that was much faster than what they would have played at if they had a regular minor league season. I think those guys are going to come along so much faster now because of this experience. And then there’s a whole other group of kids that you could include in that group that I just think are going to be helped by this experience, as opposed to your typical minor league season. But I’m not saying that was the case for everybody. There are some older players that really could have used a season. There are some older players that could have used the 500-600 at-bats or the 110-140 innings. But I think everybody, to a man, made the best of it.
AF: Yeah, it does seem like some of the younger guys might be the ones to really benefit from it the most in terms of really accelerating their maturation process, being around the more experienced players and coaches they’ve had the chance to be around this summer. Like I mentioned, a lot of the guys there in the camp would have been on your Triple-A Las Vegas roster this year. And I know I was really looking forward to your starting rotation there at Triple-A this year. It would have been great to see great young pitching prospects like James Kaprielian and Daulton Jefferies and Grant Holmes pitching for you there in Vegas. How much were you looking forward to seeing those guys pitching for you this year – and can you talk a little bit about what you’ve seen out of those guys there in camp this summer?
FR: Yeah, those three guys in particular, they were probably going to start the season in Las Vegas with us here, and it would have been great to have those guys. At one point, I’ve been around those guys or managed those guys throughout my time with Oakland, and I was excited about the prospect. And I know Rick Rodriguez, our pitching coach, was excited about the prospect of being able to work with those guys and help them on their journey to the big leagues, but circumstances dictated otherwise. And it was still enjoyable to be around those guys and watch their development. You saw some big development out of James Kaprielian with him being fully healthy and having at least a shortened season under his belt last year trying to come back from injury and seeing the uptick in his velocity and seeing him work in a two-seamer that really started to sharpen up as the alternate site went along. And then Grant Holmes, I managed him all 2017, and that’s the guy that’s gone through some transformations and has gotten better – and his stuff is head and shoulders above what I saw in 2017. So, it was great to be around him again and see his stuff. And Daulton Jefferies was the guy that I had the least amount of exposure to. I’d never managed him, and I’d just seen him throw the ball a couple of times in spring training this year. But, man, he’s as polished as they come as a pitcher, and he showed great stuff and great command and was aggressive in the strike zone and always attacked hitters and just went about his business as a pro. So, there’s three guys that you mentioned right there I think have a very, very bright future on the mound.
AF: Fortunately, Kaprielian and Jefferies both did get the chance to make their major league debuts this season. And it’s funny you mentioned Jefferies’ command, because he’s always been known for that command of his and his pinpoint control. I think he only walked nine batters all of last year. And then he got the chance to make that start with the A’s and walked a couple of guys in that first inning and got hit a little hard. Do you think it was just a case of nerves with him just being there in the major leagues for the first time, because he really didn’t look like the pitcher that those of us who’ve seen him pitch in the minor leagues are used to seeing?
FR: Well, Daulton’s a pretty cool customer. I mean, he’s a guy that keeps his composure and is very focused and very in command when he’s on that mound. But I don’t think you can underestimate the emotions and the nerves that go into making your major league debut. And I don’t care how cool or stoic or composed you are, once you get out there for the first time, it’s going to be different. I talked to Daulton a little bit about it, and he said he had a lot of fun. It wasn’t his best foot forward as far as his ability, because he’s just got unlimited ability. But it was great that he had the experience. And as soon as you can get that first one under your belt, I think that the next ones come easier. So, I look forward to seeing that Daulton.
AF: Yeah, we all do. It is a bit of a big deal to be on a major league mound for the first time – it doesn’t happen every day. A couple of guys who had a chance to make their Triple-A debuts with you last year and had some struggles when they got their first opportunities there were Parker Dunshee and Brian Howard. Can you talk a little bit about what you saw out of them last season, what you think accounted for some of the struggles they had in Triple-A, and then what you’ve seen out of them this summer in camp and what improvements and progress you may have seen them make this summer?
FR: Well, I’ll start with Brian Howard. Every jump you make up the ladder in baseball, you’re going to have struggles and it’s harder. You’re playing against better people and better hitters, better pitchers. And I just think that in a short look, he just wasn’t able to command the baseball, especially his fastball. And then he would get behind and have to put the ball over the plate, and he got hit. What I’ve seen out at the alternative site is a guy that’s just a tireless worker. He’s always working to get better. He’s always doing things in his bullpen work to command the baseball better. He’s trying different arm angles. He’s mixing in more two-seamers from that different arm angle. He’s so tall, and he’s such a tough look for right-handers and left-handers because of the length that he has. It appears with his new arm angle that it’s more deceptive, and anytime you can be more deceptive as a pitcher, I think everyone can agree that’s a good thing. And he’s really worked hard the last two and a half months to get to a point where he’s comfortable with a little different arm angle. I think he’s started to see some results, and I think it’s going to help him a lot moving forward. Parker Dunshee, I wouldn’t look at Parker’s season last year and say that it was a struggle, because he was one of our most consistent starters. He had a run of four or five starts where he got beat up a little bit. And again, going from Double-A to Triple-A, that’s going to happen. But he was able to make those adjustments on the fly and in high-pressure situations and improved after he figured some things out. Once he started to command the fastball better, his performance improved. And I always had a lot of confidence when Parker took the mound. This year, he came into spring training a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger and had a little uptick in velocity. He was running up to 93-94 miles per hour at the alternate site. And that’s something that he’s never really had. He hasn’t had big velo. He’s always relied on deception, and he’s always relied on fastball command and mixing and matching and doing little things that great pitchers do. But with the uptick in velocity, I think he’s got a little bit more confidence. And he pitched as many innings as he could at the alternate site and did a really great job for us, so I expect good things out of Parker as well.
AF: Another guy you know well is Sheldon Neuse. Obviously, his first year in Triple-A at Nashville, he had some real struggles there. And then last year at Vegas, he was just a totally different player. He was probably one of your most consistent hitters last year at Vegas, and then he did get the opportunity to make his major league debut with the A’s last year. It looked like he was ticketed to start the year back at Triple-A again this year with you in Vegas. I was curious to see if he was going to be able to force his way onto the major league roster at some point this year. But, unfortunately, not having a chance to play every day at Triple-A, it’s a little harder for a player to do that and make those kinds of impressions that the front office can’t ignore. So, can you talk a little bit about the development you’ve seen out of Sheldon Neuse and what you’ve seen out of him there this summer at camp?
FR: Yeah, just like we talked about the benefits for some of the younger kids in this alternative site scenario, there’s some guys that this scenario wasn’t ideal for it because it didn’t give them an opportunity to put up numbers in Triple-A and force the hand of the major league team if an opportunity came about. And I think Sheldon’s one of those guys. But to his credit, he went about his business every day and worked hard every day and focused on getting better and commanding the strike zone and not going outside of the zone. He did a nice job when he was here, and he really started to heat up in the last couple of weeks. I know, and Sheldon knows, that any time he could be called upon to help the major league team, and I know he’ll be ready.
AF: It’ll be interesting to see if he’s able to push his way into the conversation next spring anyway. A couple of outfielders who may have had a chance to be on your Triple-A roster at some point this year if things had gone as planned, and a couple of guys who’ve been there in the camp this summer, are Greg Deichmann and Luis Barrera. They’re probably a couple of the more intriguing outfielders at the higher ranks of the system. Can you talk a little bit about what you’ve seen out of those guys this summer and if you think they’ve been able to make any improvements or progress this year in camp?
FR: Absolutely, two of our most exciting position players in the Oakland system, for sure – Greg Deichmann and Luis Barrera – two totally different players, other than being outfielders, but both dynamic in their own way. You have Deichmann that’s a big strong-bodied kid, very physical player, left-handed power, has a very accurate arm from the outfield, runs well for his size, very disciplined at the plate, and put himself on the map with a great [Arizona] Fall League showing last fall, and just continued it in spring training into the alternate site and really never stopped hitting. Health has been an issue for him, and seeing him healthy and seeing him play hard and seeing him be able to do the things that his talents allow him to do on an everyday basis was a lot of fun for me, because this is my first exposure to him on an everyday basis. So, I would have loved to see what he could have done in Las Vegas. He’s going to be a very, very good major league player – and he’s definitely one of our most exciting ones here. Luis Barrera was excellent from the day he stepped foot in San Jose. He made a great impression in spring training. I know Bob Melvin really liked the way he played, and you couldn’t argue with the way he hit. He had a great spring and it just continued here. He’s got elite bat-to-ball skills. He does a better job of getting the barrel to the baseball than so many guys. It’s just a talent that you can’t talk about enough. And he does have a little power. He runs really well. He throws really well – he’s accurate. This is somebody who I think is going to play in the major leagues for a long time and have a really, really nice career. He was as impressive as they come at the alternative site. I think he ended up hitting around .450 in just under 90 at-bats, with a lot of extra-base hits and some stolen bases sprinkled in there and some great plays in the outfield. So that’s the guy that really took advantage of this time, this opportunity, to make himself better – and he was definitely our best hitter in this camp.
AF: Like you said, they’re such very different types of players, but both intriguing in their own ways. One other young outfielder who has always intrigued me from the time he came on the scene last year, and he’s still just a teenager, is Brayan Buelvas. So, I have to ask you what you’ve seen out of that kid there this summer.
FR: What a joy to watch this guy work every day. He’s a teenager coming into a scenario with a lot of players that have way more experience than he does. He’s got one short season in Arizona under his belt in which he excelled. What he did every day and the joy that he brought to the field and the energy that he brought to the field and what he was able to show, not only to the staff but the other players in the organization, I think is going to go a long way, because this kid is advanced for his years – and you talk about a work ethic and what he was able to do in his short time here! He’s a young kid, and he’s in the weight room every day. He probably put on eight pounds of muscle in the two-and-a-half months that he was in San Jose. We’re taking batting practice, and his group’s not even supposed to be on the field shagging, and he’s out there shagging and diving and jumping around. He’s just a fun guy to watch play. And anytime you have a guy that loves the game that much and is willing to work as hard as Brayan is willing to work, you’re going to have something special – and I think that’s what you have in Buelvas.
AF: As a teenager, he was one of the best hitters in the Arizona League last year, so I was really looking forward to seeing him get into action this year. But we’ll definitely be looking forward to seeing more of him in 2021. One position that the A’s system definitely seems to be blessed with at this point is shortstop. There’s a number of talented young shortstops, and a lot of them were there in the camp this summer. Of course, there’s Nick Allen, there’s Logan Davidson, who was the A’s top draft pick last year, and then there’s Robert Puason, who was the A’s top international signing last year, and he’s still a teenager. So, I’m curious what you’ve seen out of them this year in camp. I know they’ve all been working there with Bobby Crosby, which is obviously fortunate for all of them, but can you talk a little bit about that trio of shortstops?
FR: Yeah, a great trio, and one of the most exciting things, from our staff’s perspective, just to see those three guys working every day. I’ve got to tip my hat to Bobby Crosby because he was out there with them every day and working with them on little things and getting them into situations where they’re creating great major league habits, which is so important for young players. And Bobby just did a fantastic job doing that with these three guys. Puason is the youngest of the three, and he’s pretty far away from being able to crack a major league roster, but you can see that he’s got the ability. You can see that he has the instincts and the tools, and it’s going to be a lot of fun watching him develop as a switch-hitter. He’s got gifted hands, a strong arm, and he works hard, and he’s committed to his craft. And to see his improvement from day one facing, like we spoke about earlier, competition that he wouldn’t have faced had we had a regular season – the improvements were dramatic with Puason. And then you go to Logan Davidson, our first-round pick last year that was just outstanding the entire time – another switch-hitting shortstop, but a very physical player, and very strong. And he really improved his actions defensively, his footwork defensively, worked on being able to throw from different angles. We saw so much improvement from the beginning of the alternative site camp. And the guy can really hit from both sides of the plate…and with his strength and his discipline and two really refined swings, he’s going to be a really nice player. And then Nicky Allen – everyone knows about Nicky’s defense and how slick he is. But it’s not just the great plays; it’s every play. He’s a student of the game. He wants to know about positioning. He wants to know about pitch selection. He wants to know about angles. He wants to know about where everybody should be on every play, not just himself. And he is as good as it gets defensively at shortstop. But what really stuck out to me from Nick Allen was his offense and how he worked through at-bats and tried to match up what he was trying to do during at-bats with who he is as a player – and that’s a very difficult thing for a young guy to do. A lot of people say, “Well, I want to hit home runs. I want to drive the ball in the air. I want to do this.” Well, you better have the physical ability to do that, or else you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle. And Nicky was very committed to making his at-bats count and trying to do a good job during every at-bat that would match his physical skill set. For a young player to do that, it was pretty impressive, and his bat really impressed me this camp.
AF: As you mentioned, Nick Allen made some big strides last year at Stockton at the plate. Which, given how gifted he is defensively, if he can be a productive player at the plate as well, that’s quite a potent combo. And I know I was really looking forward to seeing what he could do at Midland this year. One last player I want to ask you about is someone everyone’s excited about, and that’s this year’s top draft pick for the A’s, catcher Tyler Soderstrom. I know he’s still a teenager, but a lot of people have talked about how mature he seems to be for his age. Can you tell us a little bit about what you saw out of Tyler Soderstrom this summer in camp?
FR: Yeah, first of all, let’s remember he is still a kid, and that’s actually what we ended up calling him is “The Kid.” But you’re talking about a guy with a very advanced bat and very advanced knowledge of the strike zone and a really, really, really good idea of what he wants to do when he steps into that batter’s box, which you don’t see from some guys ever, let alone at 18 years old. So, it was a lot of fun getting to know his swing and getting to watch him hit, whether it was batting practice or cage work or some damage he was able to do in the games. I think he ended up, in two and a half months, hitting five or six home runs in live competition with us. So, that’s pretty impressive as an 18-year-old guy getting his first taste of professional baseball. On the catching side of it, he’s going to be a work in progress. He’s going to have to really grind and work and take ownership of that craft. The sooner he can do that, the sooner he’ll get to the big leagues, because that bat’s going to carry him a long way, and he’s going to be a really, really special hitter. So, it was fun to watch him and get to know him and be there for his first taste of pro ball.
AF: I think we’re all looking forward to hopefully seeing him in action next year. A couple of final questions for you. Because the nature of this camp is so different, you’re not playing other teams, you’re not playing really competitive games every day, you’re just playing intrasquad games, this summer left a lot more time for personal instruction, one-on-one instruction with players, that you probably wouldn’t have had the time for during a full competitive season. Can you talk a little bit about how these players might benefit from that one-on-one instruction that they’ve received in what really is almost like an extended, intensive instructional league that you’ve had there this year?
FR: Yeah, well we had a lot of staff here, and there was a lot of focus on working on individual things with guys…so there was always stuff going on, whether it was infielders or catchers or the hitting coaches in the cages working on specific things with guys. And because of that, I think that guys were able to get more focused work from the staff members, and the players were able to benefit from it. I guess that’s more of a question for the players, if that is something that they truly benefited from, but it’s going to be something that each individual player will probably say, “Yes, it was great to have so much individualized work.”
AF: My understanding is that the camp just recently closed and that you guys have all headed home. But can you talk a little bit about the status of things now? The A’s still have a little more regular season left to play, and let’s hope they have a lot more postseason left to play too! So where’s everybody going to be? If they need replacement players, what’s going to happen? How’s this all going to work the rest of the way here?
FR: Well, yeah, the alternate site has been closed down. And there will be an instructional league opening up the end of September. So, some of the players from the alternate site will go to instructional league. And then there’ll be a list of players that will go onto an expanded taxi squad that will be available to help Oakland out if needed, whether an injury happens or another scenario happens where Oakland needs players, there will be an expanded taxi squad – and some of the guys from the alternative site will be on that taxi squad. So, there’s two directions guys could go. Some guys were doing neither, so they were going home, and they were finished with their season. But yeah, there’s a lot of baseball to be played for some of these guys still.
AF: And will that instructional league be happening in Arizona at the site there?
FR: Yes, the players and staff will have this in Arizona.
AF: So, you’ve got some guys going to Arizona, some guys going home, and some going to travel with the A’s then.
FR: Yep, absolutely.
AF: And now you’re back at home relaxing after a summer in San Jose. But I’m sure all the guys there benefited from having you there and having your insights and your instruction and your experiences available to them. It definitely was a unique year for all of us, yourself included. And I just hope we can see you in uniform and back out on the field next year in the 2021 season playing baseball the way we always expected it to be played.
FR: Absolutely, I hope the same thing, Bill!
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I listen to your show on A’s Cast as well….great stuff.
Thank ya kindly – glad to know you enjoy it!