The Athletics are planning to add infield prospect Zack Gelof to their roster prior to Friday’s game, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The club already has a vacancy on their 40-man after losing right-hander Adam Oller off waivers to the Mariners earlier today.
Gelof, 23, was selected by the A’s in the second round of the 2021 draft. He’s generally considered to be a very talented hitter, though one with a penchant for aggressiveness that can make him strikeout prone. Last year, he played 96 games between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .270/.352/.463 for a wRC+ of 107. He walked in 11.4% of his plate appearances but struck out at a 27.5% clip. This year, he’s played in 69 Triple-A games, striking out in 27.9% of his trips to the plate but walking in 13.3% of them. His .304/.401/.529 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 122 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Defensively, Gelof was a third baseman in college but concerns around his throwing arm have led the A’s to gradually move him to second base, the only position he’s played this year. Speed could be a factor in his game as well, with Gelof having stolen 20 bases in 25 attempts this year. He’s currently considered the #3 prospect in the Athletics’ system by MLB Pipeline and #5 at FanGraphs.
The A’s have used various players at the keystone this year, none of whom have locked down a job. Tony Kemp has played regularly, though he’s hitting just .197/.286/.283 and is capable of playing other positions. It’s a similar story for Jace Peterson, who’s slashing .209/.299/.309 but is capable of moving elsewhere. Ditto for Aledmys Díaz, who’s hitting .209/.260/.286 in a multi-positional role. Jordan Diaz has hit at a subpar rate in a small sample of 32 games this year and can be optioned to the minors.
It seems like Gelof will get a chance to square off against big league pitching and see if he can take over the second base job in Oakland. This will be his first time on a 40-man roster, meaning the club can retain him for six seasons beyond this one, even if he’s up in the majors for good. Future optional assignments could potentially push that back but the focus in the immediate future will likely be on seeing how he performs. The club is the worst in the majors right now with a record of 25-67, giving them plenty of incentive to try out young players like Gelof as they try to build a better roster for future campaigns.
Good. A’s need to keep promoting their young core so that they start gaining experience at major league level!!
And to gain any possible trade value in the next year. Good luck Padres, Braves, and LAD
And perhaps to stop trading with the Braves altogether. The A’s just took whatever pile Atlanta shoveled at them for Olson and Murphy.
Yes we took everything posiive from the A’s, and made it our own, thank you for great leadership AA
Go Braves
The Olson return was the only one that wasn’t laughable. Really need to stop trading with the Jays.
Neither trade is looking very good for the A’s and Langeliers is hardly setting the world on fire.
What? It exposes them to arbitration that much earlier and the A’s have shown they cannot make players better at the major league level. Their scouting and development is almost nonexistent.
More than likely this is a showcase as they are going to trade Gelof before he is exposed. That strike out rate would equate to 200+ Ks at the major league level without a superior OBP to justify the promotion.
Why? He can’t get on base.
The Gelofs are having a week!
Both taken with the 60th pick!
With Gelof, you’re just getting a Band Aid.
All those players that have filled in at 2B, can now be moved to another position, the bench.
He’ll be hence and forever known as “Bob Geldoff” to me
Also bringing up Soderstrom
Been waiting for this. Finally.
… and we should have Drafted his Brother Jake on Sunday. I don’t know what our Scouting department was thinking. Jake plays 3rd Base and broke the home run record at the University of Virginia. So-so glove at 3rd base but man, the power bat was needed in the system.
Besides. it would have been nice to have two Gelofs on the team.
” its a ground bal to Gelof who throws it over to Gelof, etc …… “.
Less chance of Zack leaving us in free agency if his brother is on the team, right?
They should have drafted Gelof and not Myles Naylor. I definitely think the Guardians would have taken Naylor if he was on the board for their next pick (and I doubt anyone else would have taken him in between), and I was disappointed that the A’s are what kept all three Naylors apart. Plus the Guardians could have actually used a corner infield prospect with power upside.
At least Naylor’s cousin is Denzel Clarke, but as a Guardians fan it’s not the same lol
We’ll swap u Myles + filler for Chase DeLauter ?
Then u can field Tres’ Naylor lineup.
If Kotsay doesn’t give him a chance to own 2B, then ownership should kick him directly in his prat.
Life’s good on the A’s farm. If u have a pulse – u have a shot
It’s a shame you just listed 5 players with no value. Diaz, Peterson, May, Kemp, and Laureano wont get you one bag of balls.
All very negative. The season is obviously a wash so let them get these lads some playing time, take a few scalps along the way and get them ready for next season
About half the names you want to flip are cuttable gentlemen.