Interviews - A's Farm

Catching Up with a Couple of Former Top Prospects Now Playing Big Roles in Oakland

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor A number of young players who are currently playing key roles for the A’s in 2018 may seem new to some folks, but we here at A’s Farm have known many of them for quite some time now. We first interviewed slugging first baseman Matt…

Jonah Heim Hitting His Stride with Stockton

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor When the A’s acquired catcher Jonah Heim from Tampa Bay last December as the player to be named later in the Joey Wendle deal, it was already the second time that the young backstop had been dealt in his young career. After being…

BJ Boyd Buiding His Baseball Knowledge at Nashville

by Bill Craig / A’s Farm Nashville Correspondent Bay Area native BJ Boyd didn’t play high school baseball until his junior year at Palo Alto High. Some were a bit surprised when the A’s selected him with their 4th-round pick in the 2012 draft. There was some thought that Boyd…

Trace Loehr Takes It Up a Notch for the Snappers

by Liz Rudolph / A’s Farm Beloit Correspondent After slashing .393/.562/.803 in his senior year at Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie, Oregon, the A’s made shortstop Trace Loehr their 6th-round draft pick in 2014. He joined the Arizona League A’s for the 2014 campaign and went on to spend…

A’s Scouting Director Eric Kubota Offers the Inside Scoop on Oakland’s Top 11 Draft Picks of 2018

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor The man responsible for overseeing the A’s efforts in the amateur draft is scouting director Eric Kubota. Kubota started out his career in the baseball world by interning for the A’s in the mid-‘80s, and he eventually served as the assistant director of scouting…

Wahl Working His Way into Top Form at Nashville

by Bill Craig / A’s Farm Nashville Correspondent The A’s made Ole Miss right-hander Bobby Wahl their 5th-round pick in the 2013 draft, taking him just a few slots behind familiar names like Chad Pinder and Ryon Healy. The A’s had high hopes for the hard-throwing righty, but injuries frequently…

Snappers Skipper Webster Garrison Talks About His Team’s Top Prospects

by Liz Rudolph / A’s Farm Beloit Correspondent Webster Garrison spent seven seasons playing in the A’s system, primarily as a second baseman, and even made it into five major league games with the A’s during the 1996 season. After his playing career came to an end, Garrison began his…

James Naile Making His Mark in Nashville

by Bill Craig / A’s Farm Nashville Correspondent Despite missing a couple months of action last season due to an oblique injury, right-hander James Naile came out strong this season. The 25-year-old tossed 17 2/3 scoreless innings over his first three starts to notch three straight wins for Nashville, and…

Sheldon Neuse: Learning the Ropes in Nashville

by Bill Craig / A’s Farm Nashville Correspondent The Nationals considered Sheldon Neuse a very promising young prospect when they selected the infielder with their 2nd-round pick in the 2016 draft. But the A’s were able to persuade Washington to part with him, as well as pitchers Blake Treinen and…

Slick-fielding Shortstop Nick Allen Hones His Skills with the Snappers

by Liz Rudolph / A’s Farm Beloit Correspondent 19-year-old Nick Allen has been a showstopper at shortstop since his showcase days in southern California, impressing scouts with his quick hands, strong arm and exceptional baseball instincts. The A’s made Allen their third-round draft pick in 2017, going well over-slot to…

Austin Beck Brings His Big Bat to Beloit

by Liz Rudolph / A’s Farm Beloit Correspondent With the sixth overall pick of the 2017 amateur draft, the A’s selected 18-year-old Austin Beck, a high school outfielder out of Lexington, North Carolina known for his exceptional bat speed, his raw power and his strong arm. Beck made his pro…

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

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor After originally joining the A’s organization as an area scout under the regime of Billy Martin 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…

Talking Top Prospects with A’s Assistant GM Dan Feinstein

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor Dan Feinstein first got his foot in the door of the baseball world by landing an internship in the Oakland A’s media relations department way back in 1994. And he ended up spending nearly a decade as the team’s video coordinator before eventually…

Catching Up With A Trio Of Young A’s: Pinder, Olson & Maxwell

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor A number of young players who are expected to play key roles for the A’s in 2018 may seem new to some folks, but we here at A’s Farm have known many of them for quite some time now. We first interviewed slugging…

FanFest Sheds Light on A’s Stadium Plans & Team’s Youth Movement

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor Each year, A’s FanFest not only offers an opportunity for fans to meet some of their favorite players, but it also offers a chance to get a look inside the organization’s plans for the year ahead. Of course, the biggest question about the…

A’s Prospects Shore & Brugman on Life in the AFL

by Nick Badders / A’s Farm Arizona Correspondent After catching up with A’s prospects Sheldon Neuse and Sean Murphy last week, A’s Farm took the opportunity to check in with a couple more of Oakland’s young stars in the Arizona Fall League this week: RHP Logan Shore and outfielder Jaycob Brugman.…

A’s Prospects Neuse & Murphy Take on the AFL

by Nick Badders / A’s Farm Arizona Correspondent With the Arizona Fall League now about halfway through its schedule, A’s Farm took the opportunity last weekend to check in with a couple of the A’s top young prospects in the AFL. 22-year-old infielder Sheldon Neuse and 23-year-old catcher Sean Murphy were…

Getting to Know Snappers Slugger Kyle Nowlin

by Ryan Christoffersen / A’s Farm Beloit Correspondent Last year, the A’s made slugging outfielder Kyle Nowlin their 21st-round draft pick out of Eastern Kentucky University. Nowlin grew up in the small town of Harrison, Ohio, about twenty miles northwest of Cincinnati. And after graduating from William Henry Harrison High,…

Get an Inside Look at Nashville’s Top Prospects from Hitting Coach Eric Martins & Pitching Coach Rick Rodriguez

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor Eric Martins was the A’s 17th-round draft pick in 1994 and spent parts of seven seasons as an infielder in the A’s minor league system. After his playing career came to an end, the southern California native signed on as a scout for the…

Ryan Christenson: Guiding Guys to the Big Leagues from Nashville

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor Originally drafted by the A’s in the 10th round in 1995, Ryan Christenson began his major league playing career as an outfielder with the A’s back in 1998. He made it to the playoffs with the A’s 2000 team before being dealt to…