The Excessive Prospect Analysis Podcast

A longtime weak point in the A's organization has been the signing and development of international talent; since the days of Miguel Tejada, the organization has not only had very few of its own international signees rise to prominence in Oakland, but also a relative dearth of strong organizational players from that origin.
This episode examines the past, present, and future of the A's efforts in this area. What are the challenges specific to success with international talent in general? How have the A's tried to address these challenges, and what might be behind the trouble they've had? What, if anything, are they doing differently to try to change course after all of their struggles? How are the organization's current group of international signees who have made it to full-season affiliates faring so far, and does their performance offer any hope for a more positive trajectory going forward on the international front? I analyze all of these dimensions of this very complex issue.

As the minor league season progresses into its middle half, the amount of player movement in the A's system continues to increase. But as standouts at each level get promoted to the next, how can we try to understand whose dominance will carry over to higher-level challenges? I spend the first half of this week's show walking through my own prospect analysis journey—in general at first, but narrowing to this topic in particular—and then the second half applies my theoretical framework to eight specific recent promotees in the A's system, two at each of the four full-season levels.

This week's episode offers a comprehensive look at the exciting Midland roster a little over a month into the season. I dissect the data put up by nine of the RockHounds' position players and put it in the contexts of their individual skillsets and developmental arcs, then run through a quick (by my standards, anyway) rundown of the velocities and general stuff profiles of each of the team's fifteen pitchers in Midland's most recent series.

It's the first Q&A episode of the 2023 season! I tackle a wide range of over a dozen questions in this episode, ranging from big questions about recent A's draft classes, the upcoming Rule 5/40-man picture, and areas to emphasize in future trades, to the specifics of players like Brett Harris, Darell Hernaiz, Luis Medina, and Cody Thomas. As usual, I bring in as much data and dimensions as I can to give the clearest possible picture of each of these areas of uncertainty.

One month into the 2023 minor league season, we can finally start to get some perspective on the talents of the A's 2022 draft class. How have they fared thus far in their first full seasons, and what approaches underlie their successes and/or struggles? In this episode, I detail how each of the A's top nine 2022 draftees are performing by looking through my exclusive charting data and tying it in with their larger performance histories.

In the season previews, I posited that Midland had the most important rotation to watch among those of the A's four minor league affiliates. Even with Mason Miller's quick ascension from the Texas League to the majors, the remaining quintet of RockHounds starters remains the most-hyped group of hurlers in a pitching-needy organization, so it's thus quite organizationally important to check in on how their fortunes are beginning to unfold in 2023. Fresh off watching and charting every pitch of their most recent series, I dive into the particulars of the performance and skill indicators of each of Midland's five starting pitchers and which direction each is trending in at this early-season juncture. 

The 2023 minor league season is underway and there are no shortage of first impressions to dissect. But we all know the peril of small sample size in baseball, so which first impressions are truly meaningful? In this episode, I discuss how I make those sorts of determinations and how they follow from an overall philosophy of prospect evaluation. I then turn to discussing seven A's minor leaguers whose early-season form particularly piqued my interest.

The A's minor league affiliate season preview series concludes with a look at Low-A Stockton. Can the 30 players on this team's Opening Day roster turn around rough 2022 fortunes? Who out of the fresh faces in this group are most likely to contribute? I examine everyone from the team's top prospects to—in particular detail!—its veteran relievers, dissecting what each player brings and what challenges lie ahead for them at this key developmental level.

The A's minor league season preview series continues with a look at the 29 players breaking camp with Oakland's High-A affiliate, examining each player individually, but also putting them in context within position groups and the larger A's organization.

The team preview series continues with a look at Oakland's Double-A affiliate, with examinations of the team's 30 players as individuals and how they stack up collectively and thematically.