3 A's Prospects Land on Top-100 Rankings

It's prospect ranking season, and the Athletics have landed three players on multiple top-100 lists. What's exciting with these prospects is that all three have the potential to make their MLB debuts this season, and could each have a decent-sized impact on the club's fortunes in 2026.

So far, just MLB Pipeline and Baseball America have released their top-100 lists, but as more and more lists come out, these same three names should continue to represent the A's as we approach camp.

The three players are Leo De Vries, who was acquired by the A's as the centerpiece of last summer's Mason Miller trade, 2025 first rounder Jamie Arnold, and 2024 CB-B pick (74th overall), Gage Jump. Here is a little more on each, what to expect, and where they rank entering 2026.

Leo De Vries

When the A's acquired him, he was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in all of MLB according to Pipeline, though outlets like Baseball America and FanGraphs ranked him somewhere in the 10-15 range. Pipeline still has him listed as the No. 4 prospect in baseball on their 2026 list, dropping one spot. The three players ahead of him are all shortstops, making him the fourth-best shortstop prospect.

Over at Baseball America, they have him ranked No. 12, and say of his ranking: "The teenage shortstop has true five-tool potential and earns plusses for his hitting ability and arm strength. He could be another part of his team’s quickly growing core."

De Vries will be entering his age 19 season, potentially beginning the year in Triple-A. He was promoted to Double-A Midland late last year and ended up batting .281 with a .359 OBP and five home runs in 21 games. That type of production is nearly unheard of at that level for someone his age over the past ten years.

He's the A's top prospect for a reason, and has the chance to be a very special player for this franchise as they continue towards their planned move to Las Vegas.

How he makes it to Sacramento in 2026: The most direct path is that he'll play his way onto the roster, much like Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz have done the past two years. How quickly that happens will depend on the health of Wilson and Jeff McNeil at short and second, his own production, and the production of whomever is handling third base.

The most important factor here is how well De Vries is playing. If he's forcing the issue, he'll be up in short order, especially if there is an injury or underperformance. Of course, there hasn't been an indication on where he will play when he does make it up, so that will be another source of intrigue as the season goes on.

Jamie Arnold

Arnold was selected by the Athletics with the No. 11 pick in last year's draft and has yet to make his pro debut. Pipeline has him ranked as the No. 41 prospect in baseball (No. 6 left-handed pitcher), and he has received comparisons to Chris Sale since being drafted due to his arm slot. He can touch up to 97-98 miles per hour with the heater, and mixes in a solid slider and changeup.

Baseball America has him ranked just a touch higher on their list, at No. 39 overall. "Arnold was viewed as one of the best and safest picks in the 2025 college pitching draft class. He isn’t particularly big or physical, but he has a plus fastball and a delivery that keeps hitters consistently uncomfortable."

After being seen as a top draft pick in a number of mocks, Arnold dropped slightly, landing with the A's. We'll have to see if there is some cause for concern that kept other teams away from him, or if the A's were very lucky in landing him. We haven't seen Arnold pitch in pro ball at all yet, so he's still a bit of a mystery.

How he makes it to Sacramento in 2026: Arnold is expected to move fairly quickly through the A's system, and could even make it all the way to the big leagues in his first pro year. In order for that to happen, he'll obviously have to stay healthy first and foremost. Any setback would seemingly take the bigs leagues off the table in 2026.

Besides health, he'll also need to be pretty dominant game after game in order to not only continue progressing, but to leave no doubt that he's ready for the big leagues right now. It's certainly a tall order, and it shouldn't necessarily be the expectation for fans, but it should also be on their radar.

Additionally, it will take the right mix of the A's being in contention—meaning things are going well for them—but also have a need for Arnold. There will be no rush to start his service time clock until he's ready to stick.

Gage Jump

Once Kurtz was promoted at the end of April, and before De Vries was acquired at the end of July, Jump was arguably the A's prospect that everyone was keeping an eye on when he took the mound. He was promoted to MIdland in early May, and held an ERA under 1.00 for his first five starts at the level.

He struggled a little bit in his final few outings of the regular season, but it was also the end of his first pro campaign. He also started two postseason games, going 10 2/3 innings and allowing just two earned runs and striking out 16—seemingly getting right back to where he'd been earlier in the year.

Pipeline has him as the ninth-best left-handed pitcher prospect, the No. 57 prospect overall, and see him as a pitcher with some reliever risk and middle-of-the-rotation upside.

Baseball America is a little higher on him, placing him just one spot behind Arnold at No. 40. "Jump combines with Arnold to give the Athletics a pair of excellent lefty pitching prospects. Jump was solid at LSU, but he was even better in 2025 in his pro debut. His mid-90s fastball has proven to be a top-of-the-zone weapon."

He was also generating whiffs with his slider at a high clip, so he could be in the process of becoming a very solid arm for the A's to rely upon sooner rather than later.

How he makes it to Sacramento in 2026: Of the three top prospects, Jump would appear to be the closest to making his MLB debut. While De Vries could begin in either Midland or Las Vegas depending how his spring goes, Jump is expected to be in the Aviators rotation to begin the year. Arnold's first pro year will likely begin in the lower minors.

The A's haven't made a ton of pitching upgrades this winter, so there will be opportunities for him to stake his claim to a roster spot over the course of the year. If one top prospect is going to debut in 2026, Jump is the most likely candidate.

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