by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
July 11, 2021
On Sunday, the A’s took Thousand Oaks High School shortstop Max Muncy with their first pick in the 2021 amateur draft. After taking catcher Tyler Soderstrom with their top pick last year, Oakland made a high school player its top selection for the second straight year.
The last time the A’s made a high school shortstop their top pick was in 2012, when the team took shortstop Addison Russell. The A’s also used their top pick to select shortstops in 2015, when they took Richie Martin, and in 2019, when they selected Logan Davidson, both of whom were college players.
The 18-year-old Muncy, who’s no relation to former A’s player Max Muncy (though, oddly enough, the two do share a birthday!), was MLB Pipeline’s 38th-ranked prospect and Baseball America’s 43rd-ranked prospect prior to the draft.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound infielder, who was named the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News Baseball Player of the Year and was the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Player of the Year, went 45 for 96 with 24 walks, just 16 strikeouts, 11 home runs and 10 stolen bases while slashing .469/.576/.974 during his senior season for Thousand Oaks.
As far as his familiarity with the A’s goes, Muncy said during a post-draft conference call, “I’ve seen Moneyball multiple times!” He called the A’s “a high-energy team.” He then added, “They seem like they have a good time when they play. So, I think I’ll fit into that.” And he singled out A’s third baseman Matt Chapman as “definitely someone you can learn from…just watching him game to game.”
As for his own style of play, he said, “I think my energy is my sixth tool. I think a lot of guys kind of enjoy the way I play the game. I think it kind of helps the team out during a game or a long series. I think bringing the energy to the field every day can be a tool that definitely can affect the team.”
A’s scouting director Eric Kubota said the team was impressed by Muncy’s “athleticism…strength and polish.” As for his standout tools, Kubota said, “He is an above-average runner, an above-average thrower, and he’s got power.” He added, “We think there’s a ton of upside to his game. He’s athletic. The tools are above average. And we’ve seen him hit the baseball a long way often.”
Kubota went on to say, “We think he stays at shortstop. We think he has a chance to hit and have power. We’ve seen him perform at a very high level.” And he claimed, “He reminds us a lot of Dansby Swanson.”
According to Muncy himself, it doesn’t sound like it’s likely to be a complicated negotiation. The teenager stated, “I think it’s close to a done deal.”
Kubota expects Muncy to make his pro debut in the Arizona Complex League with the ACL A’s before long. And according to Kubota, “Depending on how things go there, it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see him at a long-season club before the end of the summer.” So, with a little luck, A’s fans might be getting the chance to see one of the A’s most promising new prospects in Stockton before the season is through.
(Top photo via Richard Gillard/Acorn Newspapers)
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