Drew Burress Enters Top-100 Ranks as A's Build Prospect Depth For Vegas

It's that time of year when national publications begin to recalibrate their prospect rankings. For the A's, the updates offer a snapshot of where the organization is currently thriving — scouting — while leaving some questions about the development process. 

Following last month's MLB Draft, outlets are updating their top-30 lists for each franchise. Today, it was MLB Pipeline that made some adjustments to their list, while giving the Athletics a third top-100 prospect. 

That would be this year's top pick for the franchise, Drew Burress, whom the A's selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the draft. Pipeline has him ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the system behind Leo De Vries, and the No. 41 prospect in baseball. De Vries (No. 2 in MLB) and last year's top selection Jamie Arnold (No. 57 in MLB) round out the A's top-100 guys.

Through seven games with Stockton, Burress is 4-for-26 (.154) with a .353 OBP and three home runs. In the early going, he holds a 29.4% strikeout rate, compared to the 13.8% he had this season at Georgia Tech as a junior. The development process will take some time as he gets used to professional pitching, but he has the tools to be a special talent for the A's. 

Second rounder Mason Edwards, who led the NCAA in strikeouts last season at USC with 169 while earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors, is ranked No. 8 in the A's system.

Edwards and the rest of the pitchers selected are not expected to make their organizational debuts until 2027 due to the amount of downtime between the season and the ramp-up period it would take to get them ready to throw a couple of games.

Right-hander Gabe Gaeckle (73rd overall) comes in at No. 11, with third-round pick and fellow righty Jacob Dudan right behind him at No. 12.

Shortstop/third baseman Roman Martin out of UCLA is slotted a little further down at No. 18, right after recently-promoted righty Steven Echavarria. Martin played third base in college, as Roch Cholowsky, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft (No. 11 in MLB) was playing shortstop at UCLA.

In six games in A Ball with Stockton, Martin has played short in four of them while going 11-for-24 (.458) with one double. 

Baseball America has these players jumbled up a little bit differently, with Burress sitting at No. 3 behind Arnold, and Edwards up a spot to No. 7. Gaeckle and Dudan also slide down slightly to 13th and 14th, while Martin pops up at No. 20. 

They also include a pair of players that Pipeline didn't, with fifth-round third baseman Alex Hernandez out of Georgia Tech slotting in at No. 23 and catcher Alex Sosa, a sixth-rounder, rounding out the top 30. 

Here is how each outlet has the top 30 sorted out:

These rankings won't hold for long, but they establish a baseline as the A's head into a pivotal offseason. With a Vegas arrival looming in 2028, the franchise may need to tap this prospect depth to acquire necessary pieces to start building some buzz.