Farm Report: A's 2015 Draft Class Progress Report

Before getting to this week's progress report on the A's 2015 draft class, there were a few minor league developments this weekend worth noting. While RHP Taylor Thompson reached the end of his rehab assignment and was optioned to Nashville on Sunday, LHP Barry Zito was placed on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to August 7 with what was termed a "left shoulder injury." But I've been told that it's actually nothing serious and that Zito is set to return to the Sounds' rotation on August 15 against El Paso. And though it hasn't been officially announced, I've been told that third baseman Matt Chapman's recent wrist injury has landed him on the disabled list and, at this point, the hope is that he'll be able to return to action sometime before the minor league season ends in the next four weeks. Also of note, infielder Tyler Ladendorf began a rehab assignment with the Arizona League A's on Saturday and went 2 for 2 while playing shortstop. But now, let's take a look at the A's 2015 draft class...

It's been about two months since this year's amateur draft and about seven weeks since most of the players picked by the A's began playing with either the Class-A Vermont Lake Monsters or the rookie-ball Arizona League A's. Fortunately, the A's managed to sign all of their top 10 picks this year. And with about seven weeks of play now in the books, it seems like a good time to take a look at how some the A's newest prospects have been performing down on the farm.

The A's top pick, shortstop Richie Martin, got off to a hot start for Vermont but has since cooled off a bit. The 20-year-old has shown a consistent ability to get on base though, walking 20 times over his first 32 games and putting up a .386 on-base percentage while also swiping 6 bases for the Lake Monsters.

The fastest riser of this year's draft class has been the A's 2^nd-round pick, infielder Mikey White, who is the only member of this year's crop to make it all the way up to the Beloit Snappers of the Class-A Midwest League. White earned the promotion after putting up an impressive .315/.405/.459 slash line in 111 at-bats for Vermont, though he has struggled a bit, going 4 for 45, since joining Beloit. With top pick Richie Martin the primary shortstop at Vermont, White split time between shortstop and third base while with the Lake Monsters but has been the starting shortstop since joining the Snappers.

The pitching standout of this year's draft class for the A's has clearly been RHP Bowdien Derby. The California native struck out 131 in 103 innings while pitching for San Diego State earlier in the year. And, so far, the 21-year-old has struck out 25 and walked just 5 over 23 1/3 innings while posting a 1.54 ERA in his first professional season in the A's organization.

You'll find the A's top 10 picks of the 2015 draft along with their current statistics through Sunday below. The teams they've played for so far this season are noted, with the team they've appeared in the most games with listed first and their current team in bold. You can keep tabs on all the A's top prospects and minor league teams on my Athletics Farm site and get lots more details on the A's 2015 draft class right here on Athletics Nation...

1^st Round

Richie Martin

Age: 20 / Shortstop

Vermont Lake Monsters

120 AB / 2 HR / 20 BB / 30 K / .258 AVG / .386 OBP / .383 SLG / .770 OPS

2^nd Round

Mikey White

Age: 21 / Shortstop-Third Baseman

Vermont Lake Monsters + Beloit Snappers

156 AB / 2 HR / 16 BB / 43 K / .250 AVG / .335 OBP / .359 SLG / .694 OPS

3^rd Round

Dakota Chalmers

Age: 18 / Right-Handed Pitcher

AZL A's

13 2/3 IP / 9 H / 2 ER / 13 BB / 10 K / 1.32 ERA / 1.61 WHIP

4^th Round

Skye Bolt

Age: 21 / Outfielder

Vermont Lake Monsters

113 AB / 2 HR / 11 BB / 30 K / .221 AVG / .288 OBP / .363 SLG / .651 OPS

5^th Round

Kevin Duchene

Age: 21 / Left-Handed Pitcher

Vermont Lake Monsters + AZL A's

22 1/3 IP / 22 H / 9 ER / 7 BB / 17 K / 3.63 ERA / 1.30 WHIP

6^th Round

Bowdien Derby

Age: 21 / Right-Handed Pitcher

Vermont Lake Monsters + AZL A's

23 1/3 IP / 15 H / 4 ER / 5 BB / 25 K / 1.54 ERA / 0.86 WHIP

7^th Round

Kyle Friedrichs

Age: 23 / Right-Handed Pitcher

Vermont Lake Monsters

23 2/3 IP / 17 H / 8 ER / 10 BB / 11 K / 3.04 ERA / 1.14 WHIP

8^th Round

Nick Collins

Age: 21 / Catcher

Vermont Lake Monsters + AZL A's

110 AB / 2 HR / 13 BB / 14 K / .264 AVG / .344 OBP / .336 SLG / .680 OPS

9^th Round

Jared Lyons

Age: 22 / Left-Handed Pitcher

Vermont Lake Monsters

10 IP / 18 H / 13 ER / 4 BB / 11 K / 11.70 ERA / 2.20 WHIP

10^th Round

Steven Pallares

Age: 22 / Outfielder

Vermont Lake Monsters

151 AB / 1 HR / 31 BB / 26 K / .252 AVG / .378 OBP / .318 SLG / .696 OPS

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