Athletics Prospects to Know
Top Prospects to know from the Athletics farm system for 2025.
You are reading the free version of the Athletics Top Prospects. In this version, you will get the full writeups on the top prospect in the system, the biggest sleeper, and a player I could see breaking out in 2025.
In this edition, you will see what I offer in the full team reports. For every farm system, you will get my top 50 ranked players and detailed reports on the top 30. Each report includes advanced player data, traditional scouting thoughts from live and video looks, plus thoughts from scouts around the league.
Let’s dive in on what you get in the full report!
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Glossary:
FFG = Future Fantasy Grade - essentially, what is the likely long-term outcome for the prospect? This is always going to be more conservative. Handing out ace tags is not something I like to do. So, this is a realistic outcome.
90th Peak = If the player hits their best-case outcome, what does it look like?
Variance = How risky is this player’s profile, and how likely are they to hit their likely outcome? Low variance is good; high means more risky.
Format for report: Name/Position/Age on 2025 Opening Day/Height/Weight/Highest Level
Athletics Top Prospect
1. Nick Kurtz, 1B, 22, 6’5”/235, AA
If you want one of the safest profiles from the 2024 draft, it is Nick Kurtz. In all three seasons at Wake Forest, Kurtz has hit and hit some more. He finished his college career with 61 home runs in 164 games, including 22 this season in 54 games. Having a strong eye at the plate, Kurtz finished his Wake career with a .510 OBP and 189 walks to just 130 strikeouts over 784 plate appearances.
The pressure on the bat to play first base is a high threshold to reach. Just look at other highly drafted first basemen over the years. It is one reason teams shy away from this demographic. However, Kurtz has all the intangibles needed to be successful. He hits the ball extremely hard, makes excellent swing decisions, makes plenty of contact, and has for his entire college career.
The lefty's average exit velocity of 94 mph ranked in the 98th percentile among college hitters, and his 111 mph 90th percentile exit velocity ranked in the 100th percentile. He makes plenty of contact, posting an overall mark near 80 percent and an in-zone rate near 87.
Kurtz’s sub-14 percent chase rate puts him in the elite group with others like Bazzana and Wetherholt. The question is, is Kurtz too passive? Is a 30 percent walk rate too high? I would say yes. His zone-swing percentage is pretty low, and while that can change, you would like to see him get a bit more aggressive.
The pro debut checked every box you want to see, even in a small sample. Reaching Double-A, Kurtz slashed .368/.520/.763 with more walks than strikeouts and seven extra-base hits. The contact skills carried over to pro ball, and Kurtz's hard-hit numbers with wood were also strong, having a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 109 mph.
FFG: Top-10 1B
90th Percentile Peak Outcome: .280/.380 OBP/28 HR/2 SB
Variance: Medium
Buy/Sell: Buy
Athletics Sleeper Prospect
9. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS, 22, 6’0”/190, AAA
Kuroda-Grauer enjoyed a successful career at Rutgers before landing with the Athletics in the third round of the 2024 draft. After being a .300 hitter in his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Kuroda-Grauer broke out in a massive way in 2024, slashing .428/.492/.590 with more walks than strikeouts. He hit just five home runs but added 19 doubles and a triple.
Just three hitters were drafted from the college ranks in 2024 who had a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 104 mph and an in-zone contact rate of 94 percent or higher. Kuroda-Grauer was one of them.
Stepping into professional ball, Kuroda-Grauer hit and moved fast. He reached Triple-A during the final week of the season, and in his 28 pro games, he slashed .324/.421/.343. While he did not homer, he had two doubles and stole five bases. Kuroda-Grauer also walked more than he struck out, just like at Rutgers.
The underlying data continued to be impressive with a wood bat as he made contact on 89 percent of pitches overall and 93 percent in-xone. He rarely expanded the zone, showing low chase rates. Already hitting a ball as hard as 110 mph with wood is a very encouraging sign as well.
Kuroda-Grauer is solid in the field. He plays a fine shortstop but could be an exceptional second baseman if he moves off of shortstop. His impressive contact skills and good exit velocity data make Him quite an attractive prospect.
FFG: Hit-First MI
90th Percentile Peak Outcome: .290/.375/12 HR/15 SB
Variance: Medium
Buy/Sell: Buy
Athletics 2025 Breakout Prospect
3. Luis Morales, RHP, 22, 6’3”/190, A+
Morales was quite hyped coming into the 2024 season, and after being delayed a month due to injury, he steadily built up all year. While there were bumps in the road, Morales put up good numbers, having a 4.22 ERA across 81 innings with 84 strikeouts. Thirteen of Morales’s 22 starts ended with one earned run or less allowed.
Morales consistently pumps a fastball in the upper 90s with a nice ride up in the zone. Sitting 97 mph, Morales touches triple digits and saw his fastball hold much deeper into starts in 2024. There is still plenty of projection on Morales’s 6’3” frame, meaning he could continue to get stronger and hold velocity in deeper starts. The pitch command is inconsistent and will need to improve, but he gets whiffs when it is located well.
Morales’s curveball is in the low-to-mid 80s with strong depth and sweeping action. It is arguably a plus pitch already, as Morales misses plenty of bats with it and its incredible two-plane break. The location will need to improve, but the pitch shape is there.
His changeup shows a nice fade and has the potential to be an average or better pitch. Considering how well he sells it with similar arm speed, the upper-80s offering plays exceptionally well.
Morales's strike-throwing is presently below average, as the strike rate sat just shy of 60 percent. Watching him pitch, it sometimes feels like a race to see how quickly he can get the ball back in the catcher’s glove. Morales would probably benefit from slowing down some and having a better routine.
The upside is that of a high-end starting pitcher, while the floor could be a high-leverage reliever. There is a wide range of outcomes possible here, and 2025 feels like it will be a substantial developmental year for Morales one way or the other.
FFG: SP3-RP
90th Percentile Peak Outcome: 140 IP/3.30 ERA/160 K
Variance: Extreme
Buy/Sell: Buy