The Official Site of The Oakland Athletics: Team: Draft Results
The Official Site of The Oakland Athletics: News: Oakland Athletics News
The A's took a college RHP with their 1st pick. He was the 47th ranked prospect according to Baseball America. So according them to them he was taken a little early (26th). We must have wanted him and thought he wouldn't have been there by the next pick.
With our 1st compensation pick for Zito (41st pick) we took 1B Sean Doolittle. He also pitched for Virginia. He was ranked 91 according to BA. With our 2nd compensation pick for Thomas (59th pick) we took a Swisher clone in RF Corey Brown.According to Baseball America, Simmons, 20, has the best fastball command in the college game. It's been clocked as high as 93 mph, but he typically works at 89-91. He walked 15 while striking out 116 over 123 2/3 innings for Riverside this year.
Simmons' secondary pitches haven't wowed scouts, but his toughness and makeup have, and his changeup has the potential to be a plus-pitch. His slider and curveball have graded out as below-average by most scouting services.