Elephant Rumblings: Thoughts on the A’s draft picks from around baseball

It’s the weekend, Athletics Nation!

We’re now a week removed from the excitement of the draft and All-Star Game, and things have started to get back to normal. Before most fans forget the names of high draft picks for a few years, we can take one more look at some of the A’s picks, both high and low, that pundits have something to say about.

The Athletic’s Steve Berman highlighted second round pick Henry Bolte. An outfielder with a high ceiling, Bolte has the potential to be a big bat in the lineup one day. But Berman points out that Bolte’s profile doesn’t match a lot of the A’s usual picks. While he can hit and run, Bolte’s potential lies as much in the hands of the A’s farm system’s ability to help progress his tools as it does in Bolte himself.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN recapped the A’s entire draft. While he was more down on first round pick Daniel Susac, McDaniel gives some insight into later-round picks. Fourth round pick Jacob Watters gets a comp to 2020 second rounder Jeff Criswell who is currently in Double-A Midland, with the caveat that Watters may pan out to be a key bullpen player rather than having the bonafides to be a major league starter.

Lastly, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs looked at the late round picks, and calls out both sixth round pick Brennan Milone and seventh round pick Yeniel Laboy as players with potential to stick around at the hot corner if things pan out right.

There’s always plenty of hubbub after the draft about if teams were reaching for picks, or if scouts were fooled by one game’s good performance, but the only way we will know for sure is to keep an eye on these picks in the minors and see how they pan out.

A’s Coverage

• Hall: Game #96: Cole Irvin stays hot, A’s win 5-4
• Wally: Baseball’s Antitrust Exemption is Under Attack
• Ashford: MLB trade deadline: A’s trade candidates not named Frankie Montas
• Hall: A’s roster moves: David McKay called up, Domingo Tapia optioned
• Kawahara: Cole Irvin continues midseason roll, A’s win 5-4 over Rangers
• McDonald: A’s announcers aren’t down and out covering a team in decline
• Pugh: Cossio signs free-agent contract with Oakland

MLB News & Interest

• McDaniel: Did your team ace the 2022 MLB draft? Kiley McDaniel’s recap for all 30 teams
• Longenhagen: 2022 MLB Draft Roundup
• The Athletic MLB Staff: The most intriguing MLB draft pick from all 30 teams ($)
• Schoenfield: Was it the brawl? Or the rookie sensation? How the Seattle Mariners became the hottest team in baseball
• AP: Toronto’s Raimel Tapia hits inside-the-park grand slam as Blue Jays set franchise mark for runs scored in 28-5 rout of Boston Red Sox
• Nesbitt: MLB Position Player Tiers, midseason review: Risers, fallers and snubs ($)
• Jaffe: The 2022 Replacement-Level Killers: Introduction & First Base
• Creamer: 2023 MLB All-Star Game Logo Unveiled, Pays Tribute to Seattle and Pacific Northwest
• Today in Baseball History

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