MLB Draft 2021: State of the A’s farm system

The 2021 MLB Draft is here! It used to take place in June, but now it’s held during All-Star weekend in mid-July, beginning Sunday at 4 p.m. PT (a few minutes ago).

The Oakland A’s have the No. 25 pick in the 1st round, which is the only section happening today. Who might they pick? Don’t even bother trying to guess, because you know it will never be whomever you expect. It’ll be somebody who was supposed to go higher but fell a few spots, or a safe 2nd-round talent to maximize the bonus pool, or a sleeper absent from the national radar, or a golfer with a promising swing but only if they don’t like the hockey players available.

Last year the draft lasted only five rounds, and you can revisit the A’s picks here. They also signed six undrafted players afterward. This summer it pumps back to up 20 rounds, which is half of what it used to be before the pandemic. The 1st round is today, then Rounds 2-10 come Monday morning, and Rounds 11-20 wrap up Tuesday morning. Click here for full schedule info.

Unlike other sports, the state of the current farm system doesn’t have any relevance to the draft. Teams aren’t trying to fill specific needs here, just grab the best talent they can find and then figure out the rest later. But it’s still a convenient moment to catch up on how everything is going in the organization. Here are the latest updates, plus last winter’s Top 30 prospect rankings:

• Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators: Standouts include outfielders Greg Deichmann and Cody Thomas, infielder Nate Mondou, and reliever Zach Jackson. But offense reigns supreme in Vegas, and the pitching prospects have mostly struggled.
• Double-A Midland RockHounds: Shortstop Nick Allen is making great progress in the upper-minors, and he’ll play in the Olympics in a few weeks. A couple other sleeper hitters have emerged, as have a couple of potential fast-track relievers.
• High-A Lansing Lugnuts pitchers: Several sleeper breakouts here, and relievers Jack Weisenburger and Aiden McIntyre already moved up to Midland.
• High-A Lansing Lugnuts hitters: Jordan Diaz showing power at age 20, and catcher Drew Millas putting himself on the map with a strong pro debut. Outfielder Jake Suddleson, who went undrafted in 2020, already moved up to Midland.
• Low-A Stockton Ports: Tyler Soderstrom is now the undisputed top prospect in the system, and Baseball Prospectus recently moved him up to No. 14 nationally. He’s tearing the cover off the ball at age 19, and he’s representing the A’s in the All-Star Futures Game today.
• 2021 Community Prospect List Top 30

Who will the A’s add to their farm system this year? We’ll find out the first new name today!

See below for the full org depth chart, including the majors and all four levels of full-season minor league ball.