OAKLAND, CA. – If there’s one benefit to losing 100-plus games multiple seasons in a row, it's the ability to have a top selection in the MLB Amateur Draft in June. The Oakland Athletics hold the sixth overall selection in the upcoming draft and are well on their way to securing a top-three pick in 2024. The A’s selected future All-Star Third Baseman Matt Chapman with the 25th overall pick in 2014 out of Cal State Fullerton and have all but whiffed on every ensuing first-rounder since then. A.J. Puk was selected in 2016 out of the University of Florida at sixth overall, but he ran into a laundry list of arm injuries in Oakland before being shipped to Miami in a deal this Winter that returned them current Outfield Platooner JJ Bleday. The jury is still out on 2016 First Rounder Daulton Jeffries, who himself has struggled with multiple arm issues, but the early returns are not great. This is all before mentioning 2018 First Round Pick Kyler Murray, who turned down a large signing bonus to return to the University of Oklahoma to compete for the Starting Quarterback job. He has since won a Heisman trophy and signed a massive contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals that pays him over 20x what he likely would have been making with the Oakland Athletics in the 2023 season. It hasn’t been all bad however, as 2021 1st Round Catcher Tyler Soderstrom appears to be the real deal as he ranks as a consensus top-50 prospect in all of baseball and currently carries a .824 OPS at Oaklands AAA Affiliate. 

Whether an organization hits or misses on their first-round pick should not completely define their success in that year's draft– but it does represent an expensive decision whether right or wrong. The Athletics currently possess a bonus pool of  $14.2 million, and the 6th-Overall pick holds a slot value of $6.6 million (Baseball America) or 46% of the team's total bonus pool. A’s GM David Forst and his scouting department have a big decision to make in the next few weeks, and it is unlikely that LSU Stars Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews will fall to them at six, meaning that their decision becomes even more difficult. Here are a few possibilities for them at six:

Kyle Teel, Catcher, University of Virginia

Teel has always been seen as a high-upside backstop that could rocket up Draft Boards if he started to swing it a little better. He did just that for a Virginia team that fell just short of Omaha in 2023. Teel slashed an absurd .407/.475/.655/1.130 with 13 jacks and 69 RBIs through 65 games in a talented ACC Conference. He’s seen as the top Catcher in this draft and is the only collegiate Catcher ranked in the Top 100 draft prospects according to Baseball America. He’s no Adley Rutschman, but offense at the Catcher position is extremely hard to come by and his plus arm could allow him to move to one of the corner outfield positions should both Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom stick at the Major League level behind the plate.

Max Clark, Center Field, Franklin HS (IN.)

It’s very rare that a player enters the MLB Draft labeled as a Center Fielder, but Max Clark has all the tools to stick at the position for a long, long time. He runs a 6.33 60-yard dash according to Perfect Game and is seen by some in the industry as the player in this draft with the highest ceiling. That type of speed combined with advanced bat speed has scouting labeling him a rare “Five-Tool Player”, or a guy that has the potential to excel with his bat, speed, and defense. Clark plays with a chip on his shoulder and the kind of flash that can bring eyes to a reeling franchise– he has more Instagram followers than some of your favorite players and is widely respected among this younger generation of baseball players. He is committed to SEC powerhouse Vanderbilt and while it remains to be seen whether or not he chooses to honor that commitment, money talks, and Clark will almost certainly command a signing bonus well-above slot value later this Summer in order to convince him to sign.

Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR.)

At 6-5, 195lbs with a fastball that ticked up to 98mph last July (Perfect Game), Meyer screams projectable. Coming out of a High School program that recently produced another first-round pitcher in Mick Abel (PHI), Noble Meyer has the opportunity to change the future of an organization's Pitching Staff if put into the right situation. There is a tremendous amount of risk that comes with drafting a High School Pitcher in an expensive slot, but Meyer has all of the tools to succeed when climbing through the organizational ladder. Coming from a low ¾ arm slot, Meyer's slider measures out at 3100 RPM (Perfect Game) which already puts him on par with some of the MLB’s best. GM Forst and the A’s will likely have to pony up to get him to break his commitment to the University of Oregon, but this is the type of high-risk high-reward pick that can change the tone of a rebuild. 

Rhett Lowder, RHP, Wake Forest University

Rhett Lowder has been utterly dominant this season for the Demon Deacons, posting a 1.99 ERA with a 10.9 K/9 over 113 innings this season in the ACC. At 6-2, 200lbs with a refined three-pitch arsenal that includes a wipeout changeup, Lowder has an opportunity to blow through the minors quickly and could be seen in The Show as early as 2024. He has one of the higher floors among college pitchers in this upcoming draft, and projects as a Middle of the Rotation guy who could be even better. Many in the industry have compared the righty to Mike Clevinger due to the cosmetic similarities in both his appearance and delivery, but I could see him evolving into more of a Logan Webb type with the Changeup/Slider combination– especially if he develops a Sinker as he works through the minors.

Enrique Bradfield Jr., Outfielder, Vanderbilt 

Bradfield is leaving Nashville as one of the most decorated hitters Tim Corbin has come through the program over the past 10 years. He burst onto the scene his freshman year with an astronomical OBP of .451 while also swiping 47 bags. MLB Pipeline graded Bradfield's speed as 80/80 which should keep him in Center Field for as long as he keeps his speed. Between his elite bat-to-ball skills and electrifying ability on the basepaths, Bradfield should be another fast riser through the Minor League Ladder. The one thing that his game does lack is his ability to hit for power but again, his speed on the basepaths should make up for the missing Slugging Percentage numbers. He’s an old-school player that would represent a quick upgrade over the A’s toolsy Outfielder Esteury Ruiz should the A’s select him at number six.