This was a helluva lot of fun, as well as my first time doing this! There were some real nailbiting moments throughout the draft.

1.11 Richie Shaffer

1s.34: Nolan Fontana

1s. 47: Clate Schmidt

2.62: Martin Agosta

2.74: Daniel Robertson

3.106: Buck Farmer

1.11 Richie Shaffer: I love the overall swing he has, and his pitch recognition/patience. He could finally be that 3rd baseman the A’s have been so desperately looking for. He’s probably the 2nd best college hitter behind Zunino. I also think he has a good chance to stick at 3rd, have been reading more and more positive things about his D since the start of the season. Should sign for slot.

1s.34 Nolan Fontana: Some may think this is a reach, but I honestly don’t think so. Between him and Marerro, I prefer Fontana at this stage due to the bat. Marrero might be better defensively, but Fontana is better offensively while also still being well above average defensively. He has some of the best strikezone control in the college ranks and he can bang a few out of the ballpark as well, and steal a few bases. Will probably sign for slot.

1s.47: Clate Schmidt: This was more PadresGM’s choice, I personally preferred Travis Jankowski. However, I really like Clate out of the HS ranks and figured the A’s would take at least one player from high school in the supplemental round. Can’t go wrong with his 96 mph heat, although it comes with a little effort in his delivery. Commitment to Clemson might make it a little tough to sign him. Slot for that spot is $1,079,700, might take $1.3-1.5 million to sign him.

2.62: Martin Agosta: There’ve been mock drafts putting him in the supplemental round. He can run his FB up to 94/95 with a good breaking ball and the potential for a good changeup. He also fits the “undersized” mold but Beane has shown that he doesn’t mind that. Should sign for slot.

2.74: Daniel Robertson: Really have liked this kid’s swing, and overall abilities, although I think he’s a 3rd baseman moving forward. I’d leave this guy at SS though, give him a chance to at least try and stick there. Very good flat swing that could generate some pop, very strong arm. His issue is his commitment. He’s a UCLA commit that the A’s would have to go way over slot here to sign. The slot money for that pick is $691,000, and it might easily take $1 million to sign him. If Brandon Thomas or Kevin Plawecki were still available at this spot, I probably would’ve jumped all over them.

3.106: Buck Farmer: He has a really cool name and you just can’t pass up that….But in all seriousness, he could be a workhorse #4 starter. Runs his FB up to 92 and his secondary offerings are above average. Was happy he made it here, although I wanted (but didn’t expect) Brandon Kline to fall to that spot.

Overall I was very happy with this draft crop. Really had a lot of fun with this and was interesting to go back and read through different teams’ “war rooms”.