It’s been a turbulent decade for the Athletics. The A’s went from contender, to rebuilder, then back to contender before another rebuild. And, the A’s will have a new home in 2025 after longstanding issues with the Coliseum, and amidst frustrations from jilted fans. The A’s did have success as mentioned but whiffs in the MLB Draft during the 2010s was partly why the A’s entered yet another rebuild after 2021. Here’s a look at the Athletics’ best MLB Draft picks over the last 10 years.
Best Athletics Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Chapman | 3B | 2014 | 1 | 38.4 |
| Seth Brown | 1B/OF | 2015 | 19 | 3.8 |
| A.J. Puk | P | 2016 | 1 | 3.1 |
| Sean Murphy | C | 2016 | 3 | 13.3 |
| Hogan Harris | P | 2018 | 3 | 1.0 |
| Lawrence Butler | 1B/OF | 2018 | 6 | 2.5 |
| Zack Gelof | INF | 2021 | 2 | 3.9 |
| Mason Miller | P | 2021 | 3 | 3.0 |
Oakland scored big in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft with Matt Chapman. As we noted in July 2024, Chapman was the second-best first-round pick from that year’s draft in terms of bWAR 10 years afterwards, and surpassed Trea Turner for the top spot later on in 2024. The 31-year-old is second in home runs (182) among first-round picks and his glove has netted him four Gold Glove Awards.
Chapman was the crown jewel of the A’s draft work this past decade. Oakland’s track record during that time was sorted, and we’ll get into that in the next section. Nonetheless, the A’s still hit with other players.
Sean Murphy went from Wright State to a Gold Glover with power. But like Chapman, Murphy received a ticket out of Oakland during their rebuild. A.J. Puk, meanwhile, became a valuable reliever for the Marlins and Diamondbacks after Oakland traded him for JJ Bleday in 2023.
While those names are now longer with the A’s, the MLB Draft netted the Athletics notable names who will be important for the franchise for years to come.
Zack Gelof got off to a torrid start with the A’s, as he posted a .840 OPS with 14 home runs and 14 stolen baes during the second half of 2023. Gelof’s 2024 campaign wasn’t great. The former Virginia product struck out 188 times in 2024, tops in the AL. That was a big concern for Gelof heading into the 2021 MLB Draft, as he K’d 110 times over 137 games with UVA.
Lawrence Butler, a high-upside Georgia prep star, broke in 2024. Butler hit 22 home runs and 48 extra-base hits for the A’s in 2024. Mason Miller, drafted the same year as Gelof, and his 6’5” frame overwhelmed opposing hitters as A’s closer in 2024. Miller averaged 100.9 MPH on his four-seam fastball that season and struck out 104 over 65 innings.
The 26-year-old reliever was named to the 2024 AL All-Star team.
Worst Athletics Draft Picks Over Last 10 Seasons
| Name | Position | Year Drafted | Round | Career bWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richie Martin | SS | 2015 | 1 | -2.0 |
| Mikey White | SS | 2015 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Dakota Chalmers | P | 2015 | 3 | Never played in MLB |
| Daulton Jeffries | P | 2016 | 1 | -1.0 |
| Logan Shore | P | 2016 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Skylar Szynski | P | 2016 | 4 | Never played in MLB |
| Austin Beck | OF | 2017 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Kevin Merrell | SS | 2017 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Kyler Murray | OF | 2018 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
| Jameson Hannah | OF | 2018 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Jeremy Eierman | SS | 2018 | 2 | Never played in MLB |
| Logan Davidson | SS | 2019 | 1 | Never played in MLB |
During the mid-2010s, Oakland went heavy on college players. For those who read Moneyball by Michael Lewis, that shouldn’t be a shock. The A’s, for most of the last 25 years, have leaned heavily on drafting players believed to be high-floor and fast risers.
It’s worked in some instances — but not with others.
The A’s went heavy on Florida Gators players in 2015 and 2016, drafting Richie Martin, A.J. Puk, and Logan Shore early. Puk turned into a good reliever, although he never proved to be the ace some believed he could become. Shore never made it to the Majors after getting hit around in his MiLB career.
Martin, meanwhile, was a good defender at short but didn’t hit to become a regular. The former Oriole posted a career .572 OPS across 447 MLB plate appearances.
Several other college picks of the A’s during the 2010s, including Jameson Hannah, Jeremy Eierman, and Kevin Merrell, never played in the Majors.
Misses atop the MLB Draft can set a franchise back, particularly if those came in the top ten. The A’s had that happen in 2017 and 2018.
The Athletics picked North Carolina outfielder Austin Beck sixth overall in 2017. Beck was a wild card in that year’s draft: an electric outfielder who missed the 2016 summer circuit with a torn ACL. Oakland liked Beck’s upside but his swing-and-miss problems were significant. He struggled with breaking balls, and Beck struck out 126 times over 85 games in 2019.
Beck’s numbers didn’t rebound after the resumption of Minor League play in 2021. He batted .214/.294/.432 with 13 home runs in Double-A with the Dodgers organization in 2024 before he retired in August.
Arguably the most notable name on this list is former Oklahoma outfielder and current Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Oakland famously took Murray, a toolsy outfielder with limited college experience, with the ninth overall pick in the 2018 Draft.
The plan for Murray was for him to play one more year as a college QB, then join the A’s farm. However, a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign catapulted Murray to the top of the 2019 NFL Draft and squelched that plan. The A’s were ineligible for compensation, as Murray signed.
In total, just one first-round pick — Matt Chapman — from the A’s between 2014-19 posted a bWAR above 3.5. Two had negative bWAR stats, while four never played in the Majors.
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Draft picks who did not sign are included in these lists. bWAR figures as of October 2024. Make sure to check out how other AL West teams, including the Angels and Astros, have done in the MLB Draft recently.