by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
October 16, 2020
After a lost minor league season, many of the A’s top prospects are currently participating in the A’s fall instructional league camp at the team’s minor league complex in Mesa, Arizona. Some of the prospects at the camp also participated in the team’s alternate camp in San Jose this summer, but a much broader array of prospects is in the mix in Arizona. Unlike the alternate camp in San Jose, A’s prospects are now playing competitive games against other teams’ prospects in the instructional league in Arizona.
46 players – including 25 pitchers and 21 position players – reported to the A’s camp during the last weekend of September. Games began on October 6 and will continue through October 30. All of this year’s draft picks for the A’s are in attendance at the camp, including the team’s first-round draft pick, catcher Tyler Soderstrom, along with outfielder Michael Guldberg and pitchers Jeff Criswell, Dane Acker and Stevie Emanuels. Soderstrom participated in the alternate camp in San Jose, but this is the first opportunity the A’s have had to see the rest of this year’s draft picks in action.
Along with Soderstrom, a pair of other recent first-round picks, shortstop Logan Davidson and outfielder Austin Beck, are in attendance as well. Beck was not invited to the alternate camp, which he was not happy about. Outfield prospect Lazaro Armenteros was not invited either. And while Beck was included on the instructional league roster, Armenteros was not. So, the Cuban outfielder hasn’t had the opportunity to be on the field since he led all minor leaguers in strikeouts while playing for Stockton in 2019.
A couple of the A’s other most intriguing young international prospects, Dominican shortstop Robert Puason and Colombian outfielder Brayan Buelvas, are participating in camp though. And some of the A’s other most high-profile prospects on the instructional league roster include shortstop Nick Allen and outfielder Greg Deichmann, along with pitchers Parker Dunshee, Brian Howard, Brady Feigl and Gus Varland, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
A’S FALL INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE ROSTER
–PITCHERS–
–CATCHERS–
–INFIELDERS–
–OUTFIELDERS–
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Can the public attend these workouts or games?
Bill, thanks for digging up all of this info. It is great to get reporting on the farm teams. Well done.