Getting to Know the A’s 2015 Top 10 Draft Picks

Now that day two of the amateur draft is complete, it’s time to run down the A’s top ten picks of the 2015 draft. After taking two collegiate shortstops with their top two picks on Monday, the team continued to prefer college players on Tuesday but focused more on finding promising young pitchers.

Overall, the team took five pitchers and five position players with its top ten picks. The five position players picked were all up-the-middle guys, including the two college shortstops, along with two college center fielders and one college catcher. Of the pitchers, four were college arms – two right-handers and two left-handers.

The only non-college player selected by the A’s in the top ten rounds was 6’3” high school right-hander Dakota Chalmers. Considering the fact that the Chlamers has committed to Georgia, could he possibly pose a signing risk? We’ve heard that the A’s are confident that won’t be an issue.

As we mentioned yesterday, top pick Richie Martin is a 20-year-old shortstop out of Florida who came in second in the Cade Cod League in hitting last summer with a .364 average. He also possesses good speed and seems to have the defensive ability to stick at shortstop in the long-term.

Second pick Mikey White is a 21-year-old shortstop out of Alabama who’s always been solid at the plate and has shown a consistent ability to get on base, but many think he may ultimately end up being a better fit at second base.

The three hitters taken on Tuesday – catcher Nick Collins and center fielders Skye Bolt and Steven Pallares – all fit the classic A’s profile as power and patience guys. All of them have walked at least as many times as they’ve struck out this season and all possess a slugging percentage of at least .449.

The pitchers are primarily high strikeout guys with good control. San Diego State right-hander Bowdien Derby led the Mountain West Conference in strikeouts with 131 over 103 innings of work, while Long Beach State right-hander Kyle Friedrichs showed exceptional control with just 12 walks to go along with 109 strikeouts.

We’ll be learning a lot more about all the A’s top picks in the coming days and can look forward to getting the chance to see much more of them at Vermont or Arizona, or possibly even Beloit, before the month is through.

 

1st Round

Richie Martin

Shortstop

Florida

Age: 20 / 6’0” – 185 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 5 HR / 33 BB / 34 K / .292 AVG / .404 OBP / .424 SLG

 

2nd Round

Mikey White

Shortstop

Alabama

Age: 21 / 6’1” – 195 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 4 HR / 31 BB / 47 K / .339 AVG / .444 OBP / .537 SLG

 

3rd Round

Dakota Chalmers

Right-Handed Pitcher

North Forsyth High School (GA)

Age: 18 / 6’3” – 170 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2015 High School Stats: 51 1/3 IP / 27 H / 11 ER / 37 BB / 82 K / 1.50 ERA / 1.25 WHIP

 

4th Round

Skye Bolt

Center Fielder

North Carolina

Age: 21 / 6’2” – 180 lbs.

Bats: Both / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 10 HR / 40 BB / 40 K / .259 AVG / .383 OBP / .449 SLG

 

5th Round

Kevin Duchene

Left-Handed Pitcher

Illinois

Age: 21 / 6’2” – 210 lbs.

Bats: Left / Throws: Left

2015 College Stats: 102 2/3 IP / 89 H / 20 ER / 18 BB / 88 K / 1.75 ERA / 1.04 WHIP

 

6th Round

Bowdien Derby

Right-Handed Pitcher

San Diego State

Age: 21 / 5’10” – 180 lbs.

Bats: Left / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 103 IP / 94 H / 38 ER / 34 BB / 131 K / 3.32 ERA / 1.24 WHIP

 

7th Round

Kyle Friedrichs

Right-Handed Pitcher

Long Beach State

Age: 23 / 6’1” – 190 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 100 IP / 90 H / 31 ER / 12 BB / 109 K / 2.79 ERA / 1.02 WHIP

 

8th Round

Nick Collins

Catcher

Georgetown

Age: 21 / 6’2” – 228 lbs.

Bats: Left / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 7 HR / 22 BB / 21 K / .370 AVG / .435 OBP / .540 SLG

 

9th Round

Jared Lyons

Left-Handed Pitcher

Liberty

Age: 22 / 6’0” – 190 lbs.

Bats: Left / Throws: Left

2014 College Stats: 50 2/3 IP / 40 H / 16 ER / 12 BB / 48 K / 2.84 ERA / 1.03 WHIP

 

10th Round

Steven Pallares

Center Fielder

San Diego State

Age: 22 / 6’2” – 185 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2015 College Stats: 9 HR / 37 BB / 33 K / .352 AVG / .447 OBP / .523 SLG

 

#11 James Terrell OF (HS-CA), #12 Chris Iriart 1B (Houston), #13 Brett Siddall OF (Canisius), #14 Boomer Biegalski RHP (FL St), #15 Ryan Howell 2B (NV Reno), #16 Dustin Hurlbutt RHP (Tabor), #17 Brent Wheatley RHP (USC), #18 Brett Sunde C (West Mich), #19 Seth Brown 1B (Lewis-Clark St), #20 James Naile RHP (AL-Birm)

#21 Andrew Tomasovich LHP (Charleston South), #22 Brady Bramlett RHP (Mississippi), #23 Eric Senior OF (HS-ON), #24 Heath Bowers RHP (Campbell), #25 Evan Manarino LHP (Irvine), #26 Jordan Devencenzi C (NV Reno), #27 Xavier Altamirano RHP (Oral Roberts), #28 Marc Berube RHP (Pittsburgh), #29 Armando Ruiz RHP (AL St), #30 Brendan Butler RHP (Dowling)

#31 John Gorman RHP (Boston Coll), #32 Michael Murray RHP (FL Gulf Coast), #33 Mike Martin CF (Harvard), #34 Shane Conlon 1B (KS St), #35 Tim Proudfoot SS (TX Tech), #36 Troy Rallings RHP (Washington), #37 Andy Cox LHP (Tennessee), #38 Chris Cullen C (HS-GA), #39 Gregory Fettes C (Kentucky), #40 Nick Maton SS (HS-IL)

 

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