A's Top Prospect From San Diego Padres Trade Has Career Night

The Athletics received a number of well regarded prospects at the Trade Deadline from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Mason Miller and JP Sears. All four prospects rank among the A's top-20 according to MLB Pipeline, with Leo De Vries, the No. 3 prospect in MLB obviously ranking at the top of the A's list.

But not too far behind him is 23-year-old right-hander Braden Nett, who is ranked No. 5 in the A's system. On Wednesday night, he turned in one of the best starts of his minor-league career, going 6 2/3 IP, giving up 6 hits and 2 earned runs while also striking out a career-high 11 batters against the Frisco RoughRiders

The strikeouts are certainly noteworthy, but what makes them stand out even more is the fact that he didn't allow a walk in the outing either. Earlier this season when he was still in the Padres' system, Nett faced Frisco on June 18 and went 5 2/3 innings, gave up 6 hits, zero runs, walked two, and struck out 10. Yesterday's start was his sixth time facing the RoughRiders this season.

Across those six starts, Nett has a 1.49 ERA and has struck out 41 batters across 30 2/3 innings of work. He has certainly had their number this season.

Overall, Nett holds a 6-6 record with a 3.73 ERA in 23 starts, going 101 1/3 innings of work and striking out 113 batters with a 1.42 WHIP. In his six starts in the A's system, the righty holds a 4.67 ERA in 27 innings, a little over a run higher than it was with San Antonio, but his WHIP had remained consistent.

The one big number that has changed is his groundout to strikeout rate, which has gone from 0.90 all the way up to 1.45, meaning he's getting many more ground balls since joining Midland. This is particularly interesting because of the A's home ballpark at Sutter Health, which ranks as the second-most hitter friendly park in MLB, right behind Coors Field.

One way to combat those park factors is to keep the ball on the ground and let the defense go to work.

Nett went undrafted and was signed by the Padres in 2022 after dropping out of St. Charles (Missouri) Community College. He was able to show off his raw stuff at the MLB Draft League in 2021 and 2022, and San Diego took a chance on him. He then rocketed up their system rankings.

The righty has five offerings—all of which grade as 50 or higher on the 20-80 scouting scale—led by his 60-grade fastball that sits 95-97 miles per hour. While he has the arsenal to be a starter, he's also dealt with some injuries which could see him slide to a bullpen role eventually.

Nett, along with Jamie Arnold (No. 2 A's prospect), who was selected by the A's with the No. 11 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, and Gage Jump (No. 3) whom the A's took with the 73rd pick in 2024, are three up-and-coming young arms that the A's could have at their disposal before long. The A's No. 4 prospect, Luis Morales, is already in the big leagues and off to a tremendous start.

That's four of the A's top prospects that are pretty solid starting pitchers, along with De Vries, who was the centerpiece of the Miller deal at the deadline. The 18-year-old has already made it to Double-A Midland.