by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
July 13, 2025
The A’s targeted pitching and power on the first day of the 2025 amateur draft on Sunday. The A’s made left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold out of Florida State their top selection with the 11th overall pick, and then, in the second round, the team selected outfielder Devin Taylor out of Indiana with the 48th overall pick.
The 21-year-old Arnold was MLB Pipeline’s 4th-ranked prospect. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound lefty was consistently effective during his last two seasons at Florida State. After struggling through his freshman season in college ball, Arnold posted an ERA of 2.98 in both his sophomore and junior seasons. The Tampa native notched a total of 327 strikeouts in 234 1/3 innings over his college career. Arnold throws out of a low arm slot, flashing a mid-90s fastball that he pairs with a highly effective sweeping slider, while occasionally mixing in a changeup. Lefty Chris Sale has been the most common comp offered for Arnold.
The 21-year-old Taylor was MLB Pipeline’s 30th-ranked prospect. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound, lefty-swinging outfielder has shown the potential to hit for both power and average. Taylor set Indiana’s career home run record by bashing 54 round-trippers in 655 at-bats over his three-year college career, while posting an impressive slash line of .350/.459/.672 with 125 walks and 114 strikeouts. The Ohio native has shown the ability to hit for power to all fields and posted an OPS over 1.000 in every season of his college career.
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