A's Select Huge Bat in Second Round Out of Indiana

With their second pick, 48th overall, the Athletics selected Indiana outfielder Devin Taylor. Taylor was ranked 30th overall by MLB.com, giving the A's some good value in the second round. With their first would pick, the A's took Jamie Arnold at No. 11, a pitcher that some had projected at 1-1 entering the college season.

The A's have a type when it comes to drafting hitters early. Taylor is praised for his bat-to-ball skills and his low chase rates, joining A's rookies Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz as college hitters who had elite skills at the plate.

Taylor set the program record for home runs at Indiana with 54 in 798 plate appearances. In 2025, Taylor walked at 19.3% of the time and struck out 11.2% of the time, giving just a glimpse of his profile.

For comparison, Wilson's walk rate was 8.8% in his last year at Grand Canyon University, and he struck out 2.2% of the time. Kurtz, in his final season at Wake Forest, held a 30% walk rate and a 16.2% strikeout rate.

In his college career at Indiana, 169 games, Taylor had a .350 batting average (.374 in 2025), 1.130 OPS (1.200 in 2025), and 97 extra-base hits (33 in 2025).

MLB.com gives him "fringy" grades in the defensive, arm strength, and speed departments. Which is not ideal, but something that can be improved upon. The real calling card is his bat, and it was one of the best bats in college over the past few seasons.

A's Director of Scouting Eric Kubota explained that the team wasn't worried about his defense because it will just take giving some time to his defense. "I think a lot of times defense gets neglected by college coaches. There's only so much time they have, and defense sometimes is the thing that gets the least amount of time in practice."

Taylor played most of his Indiana career in left field, 121 games to be exact. However, he does have experience at all three outfield spots, but does profile the best in left.

Wilson and Kurtz flew through the minor leagues because of their bats. Taylor has the tools to do the same, but it will be up to him dictating how quickly the A's move him along the system. His bat truly is something special. He controls the strike zone, knows what he wants to do in every at-bat, and can hit the ball all over the field.

The A's do have quite a bit of outfield depth scattered throughout the minors, some of those being top prospects. Colby Thomas (#3) is currently in Triple-A Las Vegas, while Henry Bolte (#6) is in Double-A Midland, and Nate Nankil (#26) is in High-A Lansing. Thomas, Bolte, and Nankil are probably the best outfielders at each level, making the long-term picture look a bit crowded.

With that being said, a team can never have enough depth, and Taylor probably has the best bat out of all of them. As of right now, Taylor enters the A's farm system as their best bat, and he hasn't even played a minor league game yet.