Pre-Draft: Options For The A's

We've done plenty of breakdown on the Giants draft possibilities over at The Giants Baseball Blog, so check that out for Giants takes. We haven't, however, given much thought on the A's draft here. Since the draft starts in about an hour, so we probably won't have to wait long to see which one of these guys the A's grab.

Possibilities for the A's at:

RHP's Jacob Turner, Shelby Miller, Tanner Scheppers and Kyle Gibson: It's almost a certainty that one of these arms will be available for the A's at 13. Gibson or Turner would be my first two choices, as they're both projected top-10 picks and have a chance to be front-line MLB starters. Scheppers has had some injury issues, but his stuff, if healthy, is unquestioned. He may have the most powerful right arm in all the draft, it's just that medical report holding him back. I'm thinking Shelby Miller may be the guy the A's take here. He's a hard-throwing righty from Texas who's been compared to Josh Beckett by a few scouts. Any of these guys would really be good choices as all of them are really top-10 talents, but I'd go Turner, Gibson, Miller, Scheppers in that order if they're all avaialable. Here is some video of them below:

Tanner Scheppers Video
Jacob Turner Video
Kyle Gibson Video

Other Possibilities: The A's will most likely take an arm, but if they decide to grab a position player, a few guys they may look are Grant Green (shorstop out of USC), Michael Trout (prep outfielder from New Jersey), AJ Pollock (OF, Notre Dame) or Tim Wheeler (CF, Sacramento State). I'd rank them in that order as far as their draft value goes. Green could end up beeing a premiere middle infield prospect, although he may end up at second or third. He's got Michael Young written all over him. Trout is a tremendously athletic center fielder with huge upside. Wheeler is a little closer to the bigs, having played a few years at Sacrarmento State, but Trout might have more long-term potential, as he's got all five-tools and really understands the game well at age 17. Wheeler and Pollock are both polished, patient college hitter who really carries the philosophy that Billy Beane preaches at the plate. Neither have the power potential of Trout though. I'd take Green out of all of them, with Trout and Wheeler as my 2nd and 3rd choices.

Tim Wheeler Video
Grant Green Video and Video
Michael Trout Video

**Update: A's grab Grant Green with their first round pick. Good job by Beane who knew Green would be a guy who could come up and contribute as quick as anyone in the draft. It wouldn't surprise me to see the kid get his feet wet this September. With their second pick (compensation B round), they got Justin Marks, a tough left-handed starting pitcher out of Louisville. More on the draft coming very shortly!