Inside The As

WATCH: Gelof, Butler, and Clark Go Deep in Arizona Fall League

While the Oakland A's season is over, some of their top prospects are getting work done in the Arizona Fall League.

Jason Burke

WATCH: Gelof, Butler, and Clark Go Deep in Arizona Fall League
WATCH: Gelof, Butler, and Clark Go Deep in Arizona Fall League /

One gem that's pretty well hidden in the baseball landscape is the Arizona Fall League. Every year, each team sends some of its prospects to Arizona after the conclusion of the minor league season for about six weeks of extra playing time. There is usually a mix of a team's top prospects, and guys that were injured during the season that are looking to make up some time and get some work in. 

The group the A's sent this year falls into both categories. 

Representing the A's in Arizona on the Mesa Solar Sox this season are pitchers Colin Peluse (#24 prospect on MLB Pipeline), J.T. Ginn (#9), Mason Miller (#20), and Ryan Cusick (#13). Joining them are infielder Zack Gelof (#3), and outfielders Denzel Clarke (#10), Lawrence Butler (#14), and Michael Guldberg.

Mason Miller only tallied 12 innings pitched this season, and according to Keith Law, his changeup is developmentally lagging behind his 100 mph fastball and his slider that sits 91-93, so he is both getting some extra innings and working on that third pitch. 

Law also mentioned that Ryan Cusick, who came to the A's in the Matt Olson deal, hasn't been throwing many breaking pitches and is instead is trying to figure out his changeup.

As for the hitters, Gelof missed time with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder that kept him out of action from May 26 to July 15. He finished the season with the Las Vegas Aviators, belting five homers in nine games. He has some swing-and miss in his game, striking out 121 times in 389 at-bats between Midland and Vegas, but he can also do things like this: 

Gelof is 9-for-32 with five walks and five strikeouts so far in Arizona. 

Lawrence Butler isn't the first prospect that Oakland fans point to when they start touting the A's of the future, but if he keeps producing like he did in 2022, that could change very quickly. 

In High-A Lansing, Butler hit .270 with a .357 on-base percentage, launching 11 homers and swiping 13 bags in 84 games. Pipeline says he has "consistent 20 home run, 20 stolen base potential." 

In eight games with Mesa, Butler is one of the team's top hitters, batting .292 with a .406 OBP, two homers, and he has walked (6) twice as many times as he's struck out (3). 

Then there is Denzel Clarke, the cousin of Cleveland's Josh Naylor and the A's 4th rounder last season. Clarke has exciting tools in the field, and showed off a little bit of all of them in the minors this year. Split between Stockton and Lansing, Clarke swatted 15 homers and stole 30 bags while batting .248 with a .365 OBP. 

Clarke has gotten into six Fall League games and is 3-for-18 with a double and a homer. He also has three stolen bases, and hasn't been caught yet, running his total on the season overall to 33 steals and just three times getting nabbed. 

Michael Gulberg hasn't received as much playing time, so he is 1-for-7 with two walks in his three games played. 

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum. 

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