Oakland Athletics Top 20 Prospects

Daric Barton

OAKLAND ATHLETICS TOP 20 PROSPECTS

1. Daric Barton, 1B, Grade A-
   
2. Kevin Melillo, 2B, Grade B+
   
3. Javier Herrera, OF, Grade B
   
4. Cliff Pennington, SS, B
   
5. Travis Buck, OF, B
   
6. Danny Putnam, OF, B
   
7. Santiago Casilla (Jairo Garcia), RHP, Grade B (changed from B+ book grade due to Age-Gate)
   
8. Craig Italiano, RHP, B
   
9. Shane Komine, RHP, B-
   
10. Jimmy Shull, RHP, B-
    
11. Jared Lansford, RHP, B-
    
12. Kurt Suzuki, C, C+
    
13. Vincent Mazzaro, RHP, C+
    
14. Richie Robnett, OF, C+
    
15. Dan Meyer, LHP, C+
    
16. Jared Burton, RHP, C+
    
17. Jason Ray, RHP, C+
    
18. Ramon Alvarado, OF, C+
    
19. John Rheinecker, LHP, C
    
20. Justin Sellers, SS, C

There is a lot of uncertainty in that C+ group, a mixture of 2005 disappointments (Meyer, Robnett) and guys with long-term potential but unproven track records.

I like both Buck and Putnam, but both have some risk of "tweenerdom" when it comes to power development.

I thought about raising Pennington's grade to B+. . .Baseball America ranks him ahead of Melillo due to questions about Melillo's glovework. But for now I will leave it the way it is. The question is not whether Melillo should be a grade B, but whether Pennington should be a B+. He doesn't have Melillo's power, but has better speed and better defensive value.
UPDATE: The general consensus is that Jared Burton is overrated on this list. Looking at it, I likely did not account sufficiently for age-relative-to-league factors. Grade C and a lower ranking would be appropriate.