A's Nail Top Two Picks in 2025 MLB Draft

The Athletics came into this draft at a slight disadvantage. Having selected in the lottery the past two seasons, they were ineligible to select higher than tenth in 2025, but since the Chicago White Sox were under similar restrictions and had a worse 2024, they ended up with the No. 10 pick, and the A's slotted at No. 11.

They still ended up with someone that the A's scouting department had ranked near the top of their board the past two seasons in left-hander Jamie Arnold out of Florida State. He was floated about as a potential first overall selection heading into 2025, and for him to drop down to the A's, they felt fortunate to get such a polished arm where they did.

Arnold had met with the A's at the MLB Draft Combine and had great conversations with the franchise over this draft period. He said that coming into the draft, he kind of knew the range of picks he could be selected, and that he's super blessed to be in this situation with the A's.

The lefty is a hard thrower, sitting in the mid 90's, but can touch 97-98, and his low three-quarters delivery is something that has received comps to Chris Sale in the past. He mentioned that his arm slot actually used to be higher, but he got to college and put on about 30 pounds, and his slot dropped a little bit.

"Felt comfortable, so I didn't decide to change anything with that. As I matured and grew into my body a little bit, the velo ticked up. I think there's more room to grow in that area."

How Quickly Can Jamie Arnold Move Through the A's System?

Arnold has been a strikeout collector the past two seasons at Florida State, putting up 159 in 105 2/3 innings in 2024, and 119 in 84 2/3 innings this year. He held a 2.98 ERA in both seasons, and combined for 278 strikeouts with just 53 walks.

He is a polished pitcher that the A's will move as quickly as he dictates. The one hangup could be that he'll only be pitching once a week or so, meaning that he's not likely to get promoted after one week in Stockton like Nick Kurtz was last season.

Just him being a pitcher could be what makes his arrival take some time, but he's certainly an arm that can move quickly and potentially have an impact on the A's roster sooner rather than later.

The A's had also traded the No. 42 overall selection as part of an offseason trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, landing Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez in the process.

That left the A's with just one more pick during the draft's first day, and they made it a doozy, selecting Devin Taylor out of Indiana. He was ranked as the No. 30 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline, and it's a wonder he was even ranked that low, let alone how he fell to the A's.

Taylor is rated as having a 55 hit tool with 60 power, and for good reason. He controls the zone, has tremendous bat speed, and generated power to all fields, all while walking (52) more than he struck out (30) last season. The big knock on him is his defense, but the A's aren't worried about that, believing that it will just take some concentrated effort on his game in left field to get him right.