Oakland A's Have a Top-20 MLB Prospect in Updated Rankings

Jason Burke | Jul 5, 2024

Lugnuts' Henry Bolte hits a home run against Michigan State in the fourth inning on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, during the Crosstown Showdown at Jackson Field in Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

The Oakland A's farm system is regarded as one of the worst in baseball overall, but at the same time, they have some pretty intriguing prospects to keep an eye on. Baseball America just released their updated top-100 list this week, and the A's now have three top-100 names as well as one player that moved into the top-20 in all of baseball.

It should come as no surprise that the player in question is the A's widely regarded top prospect, Jacob Wilson, who was also the sixth overall selection in last year's MLB Draft. Wilson has played a total of 66 gamesi in the minors, good for 256 at-bats, and he is a career .410 hitter as a pro, and that number is actually being dragged down by the 26 games he played in High-A last season where he hit a paltry .318.

In 35 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season, Wilson is 64-for-143, good for a .447 average. His bat to ball skills are ridiculous, and recently called up A's third baseman Brett Harris spoke glowingly of Wilson's ability earlier this week in Oakland.

The one caveat, and this isn't a concern, just a caveat, is that Wilson has utterly dominated the minor leagues thus far. It may be wise for the club to keep him in Las Vegas for a little while so that he can go through some adversity and go through the process of making an adjustment or two before getting his call to the big leagues.

The other top-100 prospect also shouldn't be a surprise, as he has been ranked among the top A's prospects in a few outlets. At No. 84, Baseball America has right-hander Luis Morales, whom Oakland signed out of Cuba for $3 million in January of 2023. He sits in the high-90's with his fastball and can touch 100, which is a pretty good starting point for any prospect these days.

Morales is pitching in High-A Lansing this year, and in 12 starts spanning 41 2/3 innings, the 21-year-old has a 4.32 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP.

The surprise prospect that made BA's top-100 list was just promoted to Double-A earlier this week, and hit his first home run at the level last night. That prospect is Henry Bolte, whom the A's selected in the second round of the 2022 Draft.

The San Francisco native is hitting .277 with a .388 OBP, 12 homers, and 29 stolen bases this season. On the down side, he does strike out a bit, holding a 38.1% rate since he was drafted. He cut that rate down a bit in High-A this year, striking out at a 31.8% clip in 69 games with Lansing, though it will still need to come down a little bit as he continues to rise through the system.

Baseball America ranked him No. 98 overall.

It's unclear exactly what the A's trade deadline plans are for later this month, but there is a possibility that they could add another name or two to this top-100 list in the coming weeks. They're likely to get at least one name added (and potentially have Bolte drop out) once the MLB Draft wraps up. The A's hold the number four overall pick in this year's Draft.

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