While Drew Burress has received all of the headlines from the A's draft class thus far, the green and gold took another four players — three college pitchers — who should be very interesting to watch develop in the coming years.

With their second pick, the A's selected USC left-hander Mason Edwards with the 47th overall pick. He had been ranked No. 36 by MLB Pipeline heading into the draft, and on the broadcast they mentioned concerns in his profile from not throwing hard enough. He'd been sitting 91-92 in general, while touching 95. 

Athletics Roundtable asked A's Scouting Director Eric Kubota about that concern following the first day of the draft.

"We've actually seen him in the fall and winter up to 97," Kubota said. "As a starter, he definitely pitched probably more in the low 90s. But we have seen more velocity out of him in the past, and we think there is room for that to improve as a starter as well.  I mean, the way he spins the baseball, a lot of those guys, you know, they're able to to improve their velocity as well."

Edwards held a flawless 8-0 record, and didn't earn a loss in his sophomore and junior seasons. This spring he posted a 2.45 ERA in 17 starts spanning 95 ⅔ innings and led the country in strikeouts with 169. That was good for a 42.7% strikeout rate. He also held an 11.9% walk rate. 

"It's an easy comparison, but a lot of similarities to Barry Zito," Kubota said.

The A's third pick, right-hander Gabe Gaeckle out of Arkansas, was ranked No. 96 by Pipeline, but was selected with the No. 73 overall pick by the A's. The A's also held the No. 83 pick in the draft, but it became clear why the A's had to jump on him when they did.

He's able to sit 98-99 with the fastball, which he pairs with a mid-80s slider, and of the 39 games he's appeared in the past two seasons, 21 of them have been as a starter, to varying degrees of success. He posted a cumulative 4.14 ERA in 71 ⅔ innings in 2026, striking out 26.1% of batters.

"We think he has the mix to start," Kubota said. "I think it was an easier transition from high school into the bullpen for him, and I think he had success there. I think Arkansas felt like it was probably more beneficial to their team to have him in the 'pen, but we do think he's a starting pitcher down the road."

Third rounder Jacob Dudan out of NC State, a right-hander, underwent Tommy John surgery this spring after starting the year 4-1 in eight starts spanning 50 innings and holding a 3.60 ERA. He had a tremendous mix of strikeouts (30.4%) and limited walks (5.9%) in those eight starts. 

"We thought that the opportunity was such in that round that it was tough to pass up," Kubota said of taking Dudan, post-Tommy John. 

The timeline for him with the A's will likely be at least a year from now until he's back throwing for the team. 

Kubota also mentioned that if any of their drafted pitchers make their organizational debuts this summer, it would be in very, very limited innings. The more likely option is that they follow the path of guys like Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold, who made their debuts the following season.

The White Sox selected shortstop Roch Cholowsky out of UCLA No. 1 overall, but he was playing alongside No. 111 pick Roman Martin for three seasons with the Bruins. The A's landed Martin, who had played third base with Cholowsky on the roster but was recruited as a shortstop originally.

"We actually think he can play shortstop," Kubota said when we asked where they plan to develop him. "I mean, they had a really, really good shortstop over there already. He was a really good third baseman. We think he can do that, but we do think he can play shortstop." 

Martin's glove is his calling card with a 65-grade arm and 55-grade fielding. At the worst, he can develop into a solid bench guy who helps with the team's defense.

Offensively he's graded out with a 50 hit, 45 power and 40 run. This past season he hit .333 with a .446 OBP and a .995 OPS — posting career highs in average and OPS. He also slugged nine home runs and was named to the All-Big Ten team in 2026.

Overall the A's five picks on Saturday all followed the same cues. They're all college picks, meaning they could move more quickly through the system while shoring up some of the A's current shortcomings. Burress is a tremendous hitter and a solid center fielder, while three arms bring some depth on the mound.

The A's defense has been rough at times this season, and both Burress and Martin should help address that. 

Which pick are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!