Down On The Farm: A's Top 10 Draft Picks

As you probably already know, for the second year in a row, the A's selected a high school hitter with their first pick in the amateur draft. Last year it was shortstop Addison Russell, and this year it was center fielder Billy McKinney.

I had the chance to be on a conference call with McKinney just shortly after he was selected, and another one with A's scouting director Eric Kubota shortly after the end of Day 1 of the draft. McKinney was exceedingly polite and well-mannered (much like another recent A's 1^st-rounder) and, as has been reported elsewhere, he did claim that he was something of a secret A's fan while living in the Lone Star State. But he didn't seem to have any favorite A's players when asked and admitted he hadn't seen Moneyball, so...

When he was asked about his greatest strength as a ballplayer, McKinney said it was his work ethic - which is always a good thing. But the general consensus seems to be that he has a great natural swing - which is particularly refined for a high school player - that should translate very well to the pro game, but that most of his other tools are somewhat average. The other things that work in his favor though are all the intagibles - his instincts, his ability to learn and adapt, his great attitude and, of course, his work ethic.

The A's basically went after McKinney because they really liked his bat - Eric Kubota said he thought he was "one of the best high school hitters in the draft" - and they thought he had the instincts and attitude that would enable him to develop his full potential as a player. And as you've probably already heard, Kubota did compare him to former A's outfielder Mark Kotsay. One of the most interesting sets of numbers with McKinney was his 36 walks compared to just 6 strikeouts, which you know had to catch the A's attention.

I haven't noticed the actual stats for these players appearing in too many other places, so take a look below to see what these guys actually did on the field this year. I've also included a little video for each of them so that you can get a little sense of what they look like in action. We should be getting a chance to see some of the top college players who sign at Vermont, which begins its season next Monday, and many of the high school players who sign in the Arizona League, which begins in just 10 days. Hopefully it'll be as much fun keeping tabs on these guys as it was with Russell, Robertson, Olson and all the rest last year!

#1 (24th Overall)

Billy McKinney

Center Fielder

Plano West High School / Plano, Texas

Age: 18 / 6'1" / 195 lbs.

Bats: Left / Throws: Left

2013 High School Stats: 4 HR / 36 BB / 6 K / .372 BA / .585 OBP / .663 SLG

2012 Under Armour All-American BILLY McKINNEY powered by Baseball Factory (via baseballfactoryTV)

#2 (63rd Overall)

Dillon Overton

Left-Handed Pitcher

University of Oklahoma / Norman, Oklahoma

Age: 21 / 6'2" / 172 lbs.

Throws: Left / Bats: Left

2013 College Stats: 86 2/3 IP / 84 H / 28 ER / 22 BB / 76 K / 2.91 ERA

DILLON OVERTON PROSPECT VIDEO, LHP, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA (via Steve Fiorindo)

#3 (71st Overall)

Chad Pinder

Shortstop/Third Baseman

Virginia Tech / Blacksburg, Virginia

Age: 21 / 6'2" / 192 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2013 College Stats: 8 HR / 21 BB / 38 K / .321 BA / .404 OBP / .483 SLG

Chad Pinder, 3b, Virginia Tech (via Baseball America)

#4 (100th Overall)

Ryon Healy

First Baseman/Third Baseman

University of Oregon / Eugene, Oregon

Age: 21 / 6'5" / 225 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2013 College Stats: 11 HR / 28 BB / 24 K / .333 BA / .408 OBP / .566 SLG

Oregon Ducks Baseball 1B Ryon Healy Hits Two Home Runs vs Stanford. 4/27/13 (via SportsChat503)

#5 (106th Overall)

Chris Kohler

Left-Handed Pitcher

Los Osos High School / Rancho Cucamonga, California

Age: 18 / 6'3" / 190 lbs.

Throws: Left / Bats: Left

2013 High School Stats: 72 IP / 51 H / 23 ER / 32 BB /113 K / 2.24 ERA

2012 Under Armour All-American CHRIS KOHLER powered by Baseball Factory (via baseballfactoryTV)

#6 (131st Overall)

Dylan Covey

Right-Handed Pitcher

University of San Diego / San Diego, California

Age: 21 / 6'2" / 205 lbs.

Throws: Right / Bats: Right

2013 College Stats: 76 2/3 IP / 90 H / 43 ER / 43 BB / 65 K / 5.05 ERA

DYLAN COVEY PROSPECT VIDEO, RHP, UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO (via Steve Fiorindo)

#7 (161st Overall)

Bobby Wahl

Right-Handed Pitcher

University of Mississippi / Oxford, Mississippi

Age: 21 / 6'3" / 200 lbs.

Throws: Right / Bats: Right

2013 College Stats: 97 2/3 IP / 69 H / 22 ER / 44 BB / 78 K / 2.03 ERA

Bobby Wahl (Cape Cod League 2011) (via alskor)

#8 (191st Overall)

Kyle Finnegan

Right-Handed Pitcher

Texas State University / San Marcos, Texas

Age: 21 / 6'2" / 180 lbs.

Throws: Right / Bats: Right

2013 College Stats: 65 2/3 IP / 74 H / 34 ER / 36 BB / 64 K / 4.66 ERA

2013 Draft: RHP Kyle Finnegan (Texas State) (via PerfectGameBaseball)

#9 (221st Overall)

Dustin Driver

Right-Handed Pitcher

Wenatchee High School / Wenatchee, Washington

Age: 18 / 6'2" / 220 lbs.

Throws: Right / Bats: Right

2013 High School Stats: 51 1/3 IP / 31 H / 8 ER / 20 BB / 71 K / 1.09 ERA

Dustin Driver Draft Prospect Video, Wenatchee High School (via MLBDirt)

#10 (251st Overall)

Tyler Marincov

Outfielder

University of North Florida / Jacksonville, Florida

Age: 21 / 6'2" / 205 lbs.

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

2013 College Stats: 8 HR / 34 BB / 28 K / .331 BA / .420 OBP / .563 SLG /

Tyler Marincov Breaks the Mallards Single Season Home Run Record (via MaynardGMallard)

SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS

(Triple-A Pacific Coast League)

Record This Week: 4-2

Record This Season: 36-27

Top Cats:

C Stephen Vogt (8 HR / 21 BB / 24 K / .333 AVG / .397 OBP / .559 SLG / .956 OPS)

OF Michael Taylor (6 HR / 12 BB / 28 K / .319 AVG / .377 OBP / .521 SLG / .898 OPS)

OF Michael Choice (10 HR / 36 BB / 52 K / .293 AVG / .396 OBP / .467 SLG / .862 OPS)

RHP Sonny Gray (70 1/3 IP / 65 H / 19 ER / 2 HR / 25 BB / 71 K / 2.43 ERA / 1.28 WHIP)

RHP Bruce Billings (61 IP / 57 H / 27 ER / 6 HR / 22 BB / 63 K / 3.98 ERA / 1.30 WHIP)

LHP Justin Thomas (68 2/3 IP / 75 H / 31 ER / 5 HR / 26 BB / 50 K / 4.06 ERA / 1.47 WHIP)

MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS

(Double-A Texas League)

Record This Week: 2-4

Record This Season: 29-33

Top Hounds:

1B Anthony Aliotti (9 HR / 44 BB / 57 K / .359 AVG / .456 OBP / .568 SLG / 1.024 OPS)

OF Jake Goebbert (11 HR / 22 BB / 49 K / .289 AVG / .364 OBP / .482 SLG / .846 OPS)

SS Dusty Coleman (1 HR / 24 BB / 66 K / .267 AVG / .341 OBP / .379 SLG / .720 OPS)

RHP Murphy Smith (78 1/3 IP / 75 H / 23 ER / 5 HR / 22 BB / 49 K / 2.64 ERA / 1.24 WHIP)

RHP Kyler Newby (30 1/3 IP / 24 H / 6 ER / 1 HR / 6 BB / 29 K / 1.78 ERA / 0.99 WHIP / 5 SV)

LHP Frank Gailey (26 2/3 IP / 24 H / 6 ER / 2 HR / 3 BB / 20 K / 2.03 ERA / 1.01 WHIP)

STOCKTON PORTS

(High-A California League)

Record This Week: 5-2

Record This Season: 35-28

Top Ports:

1B Max Muncy (15 HR / 44 BB / 43 K / .288 AVG / .403 OBP / .506 SLG / .909 OPS)

SS Addison Russell (6 HR / 27 BB / 61 K / .234 AVG / .324 OBP / .435 SLG / .758 OPS)

OF Bobby Crocker (6 HR / 9 BB / 69 K / .262 AVG / .314 OBP / .443 SLG / .757 OPS)

RHP Drew Granier (76 IP / 65 H / 26 ER / 5 HR / 38 BB / 90 K / 3.08 ERA / 1.36 WHIP)

RHP Tanner Peters (69 IP / 72 H / 37 ER / 15 HR / 14 BB / 65 K / 4.83 ERA / 1.25 WHIP)

LHP Jake Brown (49 IP / 46 H / 21 ER / 6 HR / 6 BB / 37 K / 3.86 ERA / 1.06 WHIP)

BELOIT SNAPPERS

(Class-A Midwest League)

Record This Week: 6-1

Record This Season: 38-25

Top Snappers:

3B Renato Nunez (12 HR / 15 BB / 66 K / .286 AVG / .340 OBP / .509 SLG / .849 OPS)

OF Ryan Mathews (7 HR / 16 BB / 46 K / .285 AVG / .351 OBP / .483 SLG / .833 OPS)

OF John Wooten (9 HR / 24 BB / 46 K / .288 AVG / .358 OBP / .455 SLG / .813 OPS)

RHP Michael Ynoa (40 2/3 IP / 34 H / 11 ER / 2 HR / 13 BB / 35 K / 2.43 ERA / 1.16 WHIP)

RHP Raul Alcantara (71 1/3 IP / 74 H / 21 ER / 3 HR / 7 BB / 53 K / 2.65 ERA / 1.14 WHIP)

RHP Vince Voiro (46 IP / 46 H / 15 ER / 0 HR / 17 BB / 38 K / 2.93 ERA / 1.37 WHIP)

You can check out my blog - Athletics Farm - for daily updates on the A's minor league teams and all the top prospects down on the farm.