Down On The Farm With A’s Special Assistant Grady Fuson

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
October 30, 2020

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 almost 11 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).

During this unusual year, especially for minor league and amateur baseball, Fuson wasn’t able to perform many of his usual duties in scouting and player development. But he was able to get back in action when the A’s opened their fall instructional league camp at their minor league complex in Mesa, Arizona at the end of September. And we took the opportunity to talk with Fuson during the finals days of the camp to get his insights on some of the A’s top prospects…

 
AF:  We haven’t talked in a while because there hasn’t been any minor league baseball to talk about in a while. But, fortunately, you’ve been down there at the instructional league camp in Arizona for the past month or so getting your eyes on some of the A’s prospects who haven’t really been in action most of the year, so I wanted to ask you about a bunch of those guys. But before I do…I know there was briefly a shutdown at the camp there because you had someone testing positive for COVID. You’re back in action now, fortunately, but can you tell me a little bit about that situation? What happened there?

GF:  Yeah, it was one test and we kind of believed that it ended up being a false positive because he was tested five times in the next three days and they were all negative…We lost a couple of days in the process, but the bottom line is that the player had no symptoms and we kind of put it into being a false positive.

AF:  Well, that’s the best possible scenario. If you have a positive, hopefully it’s a false positive…I did want to ask you about some of the prospects you’ve had down there you’ve had a chance to see on the field and the rest of us haven’t had a chance to see in action for a long time. A guy that I was really looking forward to seeing this year is outfielder Greg Deichmann. He ended up 2019 having that great season in the Arizona Fall League and leading that league in home runs. It looked like he was really starting to round into maybe the kind of player the A’s had hoped he’d be when they drafted him a few years ago. Can you tell me where you think things are at with Greg Deichmann these days?

GF:  Well, he actually performed very well at the alternate site, and he’s had a few struggles down here – not from a skills standpoint, but I think from a mental standpoint. In talking to him, he kind of thought he would come down here and just dominate, or had to dominate. I think he put a little extra pressure on himself down here. Nothing’s changed in the skill level. This guy can throw, he’s a good runner, he’s got serious pop, but he just doesn’t control the strike zone as good as he needs to thinking about where he goes in the next year or two.

AF:  I’d heard good things about him at the alt site. I was hoping that he’d carry that through to the instructional league. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to get on track and show what he can do this coming year. Another guy that I think a lot of us were really eager to see in action this past season was shortstop Nick Allen. Last we knew, he had that great start for Stockton in 2019. Everyone knows what a great defensive shortstop he is, but he was really hitting the ball so well in Stockton in 2019 before he got injured. Can you tell me where things are at with Nick Allen these days?

GF:  He’s definitely on time. Like we’ve talked about, he’s a premier infielder. He’s probably major league performance ready at the big league level. The bat’s always been the thing. We’ve been trying to develop what kind of hitter he’s going to be – and he’s starting to be that guy. He knows more today than he did two years ago about the kind of hitter he is, where he needs to hit the ball, where his strike zone is – and he’s done a very good job. He had a little bit of a slow start down here, and he was hacking early, but he cleaned that up, and I would say the last couple weeks he’s been pretty good.

AF:  Defensively, he could probably play in the major leagues right now. And the A’s could potentially have an opening there, but it’s a shame he didn’t get a chance to get a season in at Double-A this year where he could really work on his bat a little more there.

GF:  Yeah, it’s a shame for all these kids. For the most part, they’ve lost a season. Certainly the 10 or 12 guys that we’ve got in this camp that were at the alt site, they’ve got a collection of about 200 at-bats total. But the problem is, even in this camp down here, you’re looking at just 50, maybe 55, at-bats tops from the guys that played the most.

AF:  Yeah, nothing replaces a real season of competitive minor league baseball, that’s for sure.

GF:  The whole thing’s been strange for everybody from day one. From the day we left here [in March] until now, it’s been nothing like I’ve ever seen before, I can tell you that.

AF:  That’s for sure. Speaking of shortstops, fortunately, Nick Allen isn’t the only talented one you’ve got in the system. The A’s top draft pick in 2019 was shortstop Logan Davidson and, unfortunately, we only got to see half a season of him in Vermont. He wasn’t able to get on the field this year, because there were no games this year, but you’ve had him down there in the instructional league camp. I think he’s someone who maybe has impressed you during the past month or so, right?

GF:  Yeah, he’s been very good. I think his biggest growth was at the alt site. He’s kind of growing up right in front of our eyes, even just having a half season. But he’s big – he’s become more physical. He can really play anywhere you want him on the left side of the infield. He’s probably our most accurate thrower of any infielder we have. The left-handed swing has become pure – he’s loading better, he’s got a chance to do damage. The only thing is it’s been very, very tough for him to get right-handed swings. At the alt site, they only had one left-handed pitcher. Every time we face a left-hander down here, we’re trying to get him a right-handed swing, whether he’s in the lineup or not. But that’s the one thing that’s kind of been short-changed here.

AF:  Now, speaking of shortstops, you’ve also got the young kid, your top international signing, Robert Puason. He’s still a teenager, I’m sure he’s still very raw, but very talented as well. So what have you been seeing out of him down there in the instructional league?

GF:  Well, he’s an extremely quick-twitch, live-bodied kid. He’s got passion for playing the game. He’s got some tools, he can throw – it’s a quick release – and the ball can get off his bat at times. He’s just learning how to play the game and play the game at a tempo and a rhythm where he can defend and have quality at-bats. He’s no different than any other very young kid. They need to learn how to control the strike zone, they need to learn how to play the instinctive part of the game, what bases to throw to, when not to throw, how to become more accurate, footwork, throwing angles. But that takes away nothing of the skills this kid has at the age of, what is he, 17-18?

AF:  Yeah. Speaking of young players that seem to be pretty talented, the other guy that intrigues me is outfielder Brayan Buelvas, who really put up one of the best seasons in the Arizona League last year as a teenager. What have you seen out of him in the camp down there?

GF:  He’s had a tough go here. All the guys that were around him at the alt site were very proud of his performance and the way he went about it, competing against all these older players. But down here in this camp, I think he’s just kind of run out of gas, and he’s had a rough go at the plate. He’s going to go home with having somewhere between 100 and 125-150 at-bats between the alt site and here, but this camp here hasn’t been his best.

AF:  Yeah, I was hearing good things about him at the alt site. But I guess, just like the regular season, guys can’t keep it up from beginning to end necessarily.

GF:  You know, it comes and goes. They’re young kids. That’s why they’re in development mode, you know?

AF:  Right. Now speaking of outfield prospects, one guy who’s not there in the instructional league, and he wasn’t at the alt camp either, is Lazaro Armenteros. Last we saw him was when he was in Stockton leading all minor leaguers in strikeouts in 2019. And I just thought it was kind of interesting that he wasn’t invited to the alternate camp or the instructional league camp. But can you tell me where you think things are at with Lazaro?

GF:  Well, I can’t tell you where things are at, I can just tell you where things were left, because he hasn’t been around since early March. But in his case, it was kind of like the [Austin] Beck situation at the alt site – we just ran out of spots. And same thing down here – we just ran out of spots. And this was a group of outfielders that we determined needed some more time and needed our attention and needed this camp probably a little bit more.

AF:  You mentioned the other guy I wanted to ask you about, of course, the A’s other top outfield prospect, Austin Beck, who was your top draft pick a few years ago. He’s had some challenges in his development as well. Like you mentioned, he wasn’t invited to the alt camp, but he is there in the instructional league camp. So can you tell me where things seem to be with Austin Beck at this point?

GF:  Yeah, same spot. I would actually say, the first half of the camp, things were kind of normal for him – the ball coming off okay, chasing a little bit in the strike zone. But the last week and a half, things have changed – the at-bats are better, the ball’s coming off better, he’s hitting more bombs in batting practice, and he’s gotten a couple of big hits here lately. The defensive side of the game has been good – he’s under control, he’s doing those kinds of things well. So we’ll see where it takes us.

AF:  Well, it’s going to be interesting once these guys finally get a chance to get back on the field in actual competitive games next year and we can see what kind of progress they’ve actually been able to make. A guy down there everyone’s interested in is this year’s top draft pick for the A’s, catcher Tyler Soderstrom. Everyone’s talked about him really seeming to be a pretty advanced hitter for his age, still being a teenager, but as we know, there’s a lot involved when you’re learning the catching position, particularly coming out of high school. So where do you feel he’s at on both sides of the ball? Does he appear to be that kind of mature, advanced hitter for his age? And what about things behind the plate and whether or not he sticks there down the road?

GF:  This kid’s as good as any young high school or college hitter we’ve taken in the first round. I mean, I go back to [Ben] Grieve and [Eric] Chavez and guys like that, and this kid’s right there. And he’s probably more physical than Grieve was when he took him. I think he’s got a better understanding of the strike zone than Chavez did. This kid’s really, really advanced. The ball comes off hard, he’s got serious power…He’s got a chance to really impact the game offensively. Defensively, it’s rough. But I’ve been with him for a month now, and he’s got the skills to go back there and catch. It’s an average arm, it’s a pretty good release, he’s starting to frame balls better, but it’s just going to take some time to drill out the edges of all the little details – the blocking, footwork, all those kinds of things. There’s balls that he blocks, there’s balls that he doesn’t…Raw is the right word to use, but there’s no need to think about moving him to another position at all right now. He’s got the skills needed to go back there.

AF:  Yeah, I think people don’t appreciate just how much is involved in developing a young catcher, particularly a high school catcher. There’s just so much involved in that position that no matter how talented they are, it’s going to take time, right?

GF:  Oh yeah, and especially when you think about him going to the alt site. He’s catching guys like [A.J.] Puk with filthy sliders and 96 mph heaters and trying to block that kind of stuff. You could be a little shell-shocked for a while. The first game here, he dropped, and more balls went by him, than he caught. And when you think of the way he’s receiving now and blocking balls, you can see big-time improvement just in the last three weeks…It’s one of those things that’s going to take some time, but time and repetition, and his skills, I think he’s got a chance to get through it pretty good.

AF:  One of the many strange things this year is we had a bit of an abbreviated draft – you only got five draft picks this year. And this has been your first chance to see any of them. So, besides Tyler Soderstrom, can you talk a little bit about some of the other guys? There’s three new pitchers down there – you’ve got Jeff Criswell, Dane Acker and Stevie Emanuels. Have you had a chance to see much out of those guys this month?

GF:  Yeah, I’ve seen plenty. Criswell is a big guy, good body, big stuff – up to 97-98 – kind of pitches around 95. It’s a real good slider when he commands it and gets it around the outer half of the strike zone. But he’s a guy that comes to us with some issues with his delivery and mechanics, and command is an issue. So we’re getting to him, we’re explaining some things to him. I think he’s grabbing on, so it’s going to be interesting how he comes back if and when we have a spring training and start to try and clean this guy up a little bit, but there’s no denying his stuff. Acker has a pure delivery. Good-bodied kid, he’s six-foot-three, he’s got good arm action and he’s on line. He’s up to 94-95, kind of pitches at 92-93. He’s got a good breaking ball. There’s no doubt he should be a strike thrower down the road. Emanuels is a big, six-five, lanky-body guy that kind of peels off the mound a little bit, but he pitches around 93. He’s got a really good slider. He’s another guy we need to get him around the strike zone better. But a pretty good group. Then the last guy that has been extremely impressive, even though he’s had a hammy pull and a cramp on his thigh early in camp, is Michael Guldberg. You know, not the most physical guy in the world – he did not play center in college, he played left. He’s a runner, he always hit in college. This guy is showing us all the instincts in the world to be a baseball player. He’s got a chance to hit. He attacks the baseball – he’s not a Judy – he’s got a little more thump in there than we thought. He’s got to learn how to play center – that’s the position where we need him to go. We haven’t had great time with him because, like I said, he had the quad thing early and now he’s finished up the camp with a hammy. But he has been impressive. Instinctually, knows how to play the game, where to be, how to get there. He’s played the infield in the past. So who knows? We may dabble at some point at second base with him depending on where we’re at in the system. But he’s been impressive.

AF:  That’s interesting because I know he was more of an under-the-radar pick in the draft, but I know your area scout down there in Georgia, Jemel Spearman, was very high on him when I talked to him…There’s a couple of pitchers I always have to check in and ask you about – and that’s Parker Dunshee and Brian Howard. I know I was getting good reports on them out of the alt site where people were telling me that Dunshee was throwing a little harder and Howard was using a three-quarter delivery, and that seemed to make some difference for both of them. But can you tell me what you’ve seen out of them down there in the instructional league camp?

GF:  I think we’ve all known that Howard and Dunshee, there’s a lot of similarities between the two. They both don’t have big stuff, but they’ve got solid stuff. They both have a big mix of pitches in their repertoire. You can see them carve people up for an inning or two, and then you can see them kind of get themselves in trouble. We started out with Howard – Gil [Patterson, A’s minor league pitching coordinator] wanted to lower his arm for a little bit. The first part of camp, we toyed with that on his sides. He wasn’t real fond of it. By the time he started going live again, he kind of brought it back up. But there’s a spot in there, if he doesn’t have as much head lean, where his arm could settle in at three quarter. But him and Parker both have shown more velocity down here than we’ve ever seen. Parker’s been up to 93s and 94s. Howard’s been up to 95 and 96s. Obviously, it’s been in shorter stints. They’ve both pitched well, and there’s times where they get hit a lot. Contact off those guys at the big league level will be the deciding factor. With where the pitching in our system is right now, they’re in that top group of our guys.

AF:  Well, thank you so much. It’s always great talking to you and getting some insights on these guys.

GF:  Okay, Bill, any time.

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