How these A's prospects 'bring that energy' to camp

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MESA, Ariz. -- In the past few years, the A’s farm system has been developing a core of young players who are expected to help usher in the next wave of winning baseball in Oakland.

It only took one game into the Cactus League schedule to see what the hype is all about.

In Saturday’s 12-7 victory over the D-backs at Hohokam Stadium to open up Cactus League play, the A’s saw a glimpse of the future. It came in the form of a six-run fifth inning in which a number of Oakland’s top prospects were responsible for the outburst.

A’s No. 1 prospect Tyler Soderstrom was the first of the bunch to get in on the action with a single to left. Two batters later, Denzel Clarke, Oakland’s No. 13 prospect, was hit by a pitch. Following Clarke was No. 3 prospect Zack Gelof, who singled home Soderstrom and moved Clarke to third. A single by Kevin Smith that scored Clarke then brought up No. 17 prospect Lawrence Butler, who smashed a two-run double to right-center.

It’s that type of sequence that provides the A’s optimism about the potential that lies at the end of their current rebuild. The kids are coming, and they’ve got a lot of talent.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay knows it. That’s why he made it a point this offseason to visit the Arizona Fall League and establish early relationships with Clarke, Gelof and Butler, all of whom were teammates playing for the Mesa Solar Sox.

“It was fun to watch them,” Kotsay said. “One of the things that stood out, too, was that these guys have got some size. Butler, Soderstrom, Clarke, Gelof, they’re big guys. To see the youth come in and bring that energy and excitement and have the success behind it, that was fun.”

Walking around the A’s Spring Training complex, it’s rare that you’ll see one of the aforementioned players without the others in close proximity. The group of prospects have established a close-knit bond. They know the expectations being placed on them, and they embrace the challenge of fulfilling those projections.

“It’s been awesome,” Gelof said. “Last year, we all stuck together. Nothing’s really changed. Now we’re kind of all doing it [in Spring Training] and getting some opportunities up here. It’s been a pretty fun experience so far.

“It’s always going to help when you’re around the guys that you want to be up in the big leagues with. For me, it’s show up every day and put the work in to have success. It just makes it easier when you have guys in the clubhouse who are working towards the same thing.”

Butler even came up with his own fitting nickname for the group of prospects in big league camp.

“We call ourselves, ‘The New Oakland’,” Butler said. “It’s been a blast being able to experience all this with those guys. We played in the Fall League together and created a bond. Those are my guys. Shout out Tyler Soderstrom, too.”

Timelines differ for each prospect. Soderstrom and Gelof finished the 2022 season at Triple-A Las Vegas, and their success at each level puts them in good position to reach the Major Leagues as early as this season. Clarke and Butler ended last year at High-A Lansing and will likely begin 2023 with Double-A Midland.

If everything goes the way the A’s are planning, these top prospects will make an impact in Oakland in the coming years. For now, they’re getting valuable experience by getting a chance to interact with the big league staff and learn what it takes to play the game at the highest level.

“It’s great for these guys,” Kotsay said. “Butler, Clarke, [Max] Muncy, these are guys that the industry sees as top prospects going forward. Watching them get out on the field and in this environment, having them in lineups now going out and competing, we’re seeing things that we expect to see from them in their tools and their game."