MLB Draft 2020: Oakland A’s select Michael Guldberg with No. 98 overall pick

The Oakland A’s selected Michael Guldberg in the 3rd round of the 2020 MLB Draft on Thursday, with the No. 98 overall pick. The almost-21-year-old is an outfielder from Georgia Tech.

Guldberg didn’t make any of the mainstream pre-draft boards, nor rank on any major Top 200 lists, so there aren’t any scouting reports available. Here’s what the MLB Network broadcast had to say about him, beginning with host Greg Amsinger:

“6’0, 171 pounds, not a big guy. Right-handed bat, right-handed thrower, terrific in all three seasons at Georgia Tech. He hit over .350 each season. His career line, .374 with a .465 on-base. Not a lot of power, only three home runs, he walked more than he struck out. Did have a shoulder injury, which limited him to just 28 games his freshman season. He was primarily a DH in 2019 because of that injury, so that makes people wonder, how do you see him defensively at the next level?

Carlos Collazo of Baseball America continued:

“I think he’s probably a corner guy, he could probably handle a corner outfield position, he’s played across the infield at a few places. I think he could have been a lot higher on our board if he didn’t have that shoulder injury and if we had a full spring, because like you see from the numbers here, he’s just produced in every single season. He’s a really good hitter, he controls the strike zone well, he doesn’t have a ton of power, but a guy who’s hit like this, normally we see them going a little bit higher. I think if we’d had a full season he’d be going a little bit earlier, or ranked a little bit higher.”

The highlight appears to be Guldberg’s bat, with his defensive future standing as more of a question mark right now due to his previous shoulder injury. Regarding his defense, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic notes that “when the shoulder is healthy, he can play all three outfield spots, as well as second base,” with a chance to play CF in the pros. Lockard provides the following report from A’s Scouting Director Eric Kubota: “He’s a plus runner and we think he’ll be a good center fielder in professional baseball.”

Guldberg’s college stats from his freshman, sophomore, and abbreviated junior seasons, competing in the ACC (one of the better conferences in college ball), via Baseball Cube:

• 2018 (50 PAs): .368/.510/.579, 2 HR, 8 BB, 6 Ks
• 2019 (271 PAs): .355/.441/.418, 1 HR, 31 BB, 32 Ks
• 2020 (72 PAs): .450/.521/.533, 0 HR, 5 BB, 3 Ks

Here’s some video of Guldberg hitting his only homer in 2019:

Click here for more video, from Perfect Game Baseball.

The A’s next pick is in the 4th round, No. 127 overall.