A's Land Power Bat, Intriguing Arm with Second and Third Picks

Jason Burke | Jul 15, 2024

May 26, 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; LSU Tigers infielder Tommy White (47) fouls off a pitch against the Tennessee Volunteers during the championship game between Tennessee and LSU at the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A's selected Nick Kurtz with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, and according to the team's Director of Scouting, Eric Kubota, they got the guy they had ranked No. 1. As the rest of the Draft played out, the team also nabbed LSU third baseman Tommy White, and LSU left-hander Gage Jump with the 40th and 73rd overall selections, but MLB Pipeline had them ranked at No. 20 and No. 62 overall in their pre-draft rankings.

The A's have collected three very intriguing players already, and with the first pick in each subsequent round the rest of the Draft, they have the opportunity to supplement a farm system that has been ranked near the bottom of baseball in recent seasons.

White, also known as "Tommy Tanks," hit .330 with a .401 OBP and 24 home runs this past season in 66 games, and while he hasn't shown the plate discipline of Kurtz, he has a plus hit tool, which Pipeline graded at 55, and some solid power, which was at 60 on the scouting scale. The A's being able to nab him at 40th overall could be a huge steal for the franchise.

There is one question that remains with Tommy Tanks, and that's Tommy's glove. His fielding graded slightly below average at a 40, but Kubota believes he'll be able to stick at the hot corner in the A's system.

"We think he made a lot of strides at third base this year. I think he heard people were questioning his defense and he really applied himself to [improving] and we think it showed. We think there's a good chance he can stay at third base."

Jump is an interesting selection, not because of his talent, but because he hasn't been able to pitch a whole lot in his collegiate career. Jump began his college career at UCLA, tossing just 16 1/3 innings before needing Tommy John, which kept him out of the 2023 season entirely. He also transferred to LSU, where he began the 2024 season on a pitch count.

The 21-year-old left-hander went 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA, 101 strikeouts, and 22 walks in 83 innings. The southpaw earned SEC All-Tournament Team honors in 2024.

Pipeline grades him as a 50 overall player with his fastball, curveball, and slider all rating at a 55, and his changeup lagging slightly behind at a 50, with his control also rating at 50.

Kubota was asked about the injury history of all three players, and he said that the team has done extensive work vetting each of them and they feel comfortable with each selection's medicals. For Jump, who hasn't pitched a ton in college over the last three seasons he added, "We're scouts. We can look at things through rose-colored glasses all the time. Some of us would say he's got fewer innings on his arm."

There is definitely some risk involved with the selections the A's have made with their first three picks, but the team feels comfortable with the risks they are taking.

We also asked Kubota if the rules for the draft lottery, which state that a team that has held a lottery pick for two straight seasons cannot pick in the top ten the following year (like the A's for 2025), has, or will influence how the A's attack the rest of the Draft.

"We haven't considered next year at all. We're just trying to do the best job we can do this year. The board kind of dictates how we go. We don't necessarily have a strategy going in. The board really dictates what we can do."