5 A’s prospects protected from Rule 5 draft
“He’s probably one of our best fastball hitters in the organization.” Ed Sprague, A’s director of player development, on Jonah Bride
The A’s added five minorleague players to their 40-man roster Friday, protecting them from being taken in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.
Infielders Nick Allen, Jonah Bride and Jordan Diaz, outfielder Cody Thomas, and right-handed pitcher Jorge Juan were added to the 40-man roster, which still has seven spots open because of a large class of departed free agents.
Friday marked the deadline for teams to protect eligible players from Rule 5 consideration. Generally, prospects are eligible after four professional seasons if they were drafted or signed their first contract when 19 or older, and after five seasons if drafted or signed at 18 or younger.
Allen, drafted from high school in 2017, was a near certainty to be protected. Regarded among the top defensive shortstops in the minors, Allen is rated the A’s third-best prospect by Baseball America and could be poised to debut at some point next year after climbing to Triple-A and playing for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Allen’s glove is prized, and he also posted a .319/.374/.471 slash line in 50 games at Double-A Midland this year. After his promotion to Triple-A, Allen, 23, slashed .243/.302/ .301 for Las Vegas.
Thomas, 27, also was added to the 40-man from the Triple-A roster. Acquired from the Dodgers with reliever Adam Kolarek in a trade last offseason, Thomas hit .289 with 18 home runs in 59 games with Triple-A Las Vegas. A right Achilles strain sidelined him after July 25.
Bride, 25, played in 78 games for Double-A Midland and led the Double-A Central with a .407 on-base percentage. The A’s drafted Bride in the 23rd round out of the University of South Carolina in 2018. Ed Sprague, A’s director of player development, said Bride played third, second and first base this season, then was asked to pick up catching in the instructional league and adapted to it well.
“He’s probably one of our best fastball hitters in the organization,” Sprague said. “He’s got one of the lowest swingand-miss (rates) on fastballs in the zone in the organization, plus he’s proved he has a good understanding of the strike zone with his on-base percentage. … He’s just a well-rounded ballplayer.”
Diaz, 21, and Juan, 22, were selected from the High-A Lansing roster. Diaz, who had not played above short-season A-ball before this year, slashed .288/.337/.483 in 90 games for Lansing, ranking fourth in his league in average and slugging percentage.
“I think Jordan, over the last few years, has probably been one of our best bat-to-ball skill guys in the organization,” Sprague said. “Really knows how to handle the bat, use the middle of the field. I think he’s going to come with a little bit of power down the road.”
Defensively, the A’s are “trying to kind of find a spot that works” for Diaz, Sprague said. Diaz played at the corner infield spots and some left field this season. “We’ll continue to put an emphasis on his defense at third and first and left field and give him the biggest opportunity to make an impact at the major-league level,” Sprague said.
Juan, signed from the Dominican Republic in 2017, began this season at extended spring training before joining Low-A Stockton, where he had a 3.86 ERA in 21 innings. He also made two starts at Mid
land and totaled a 5.40 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 262⁄3 innings. At 6-foot-8, Juan can work at 95-97 mph with a “wipeout breaking ball” and improved his command this year, Sprague said.
“He’s just a big-body guy that everything kind of clicked maybe a little bit later for him, which happens with certain guys, although he’s still young,” Sprague said.
Among A’s players not added to the 40-man Friday, and now eligible for the Rule 5 draft, are outfielder Austin Beck, the sixth overall pick in the 2017 draft. Beck, 22, hit .198 over 77 games in the minors this season and has played in just eight games above High-A.