As the A's have traded away big-name players, they have continued to preach patience for the future. Now, their young talent is starting to show why fans could look at brighter times ahead.
On Friday, the A's were highlighted as MLB Pipeline of MLB.com revealed their Top 100 Prospects list. Three different hopeful future A's -- two position players and one pitcher -- were named on the list.
Venezuelan Franklin Barreto, who was a part of the package the Blue Jays sent to the A's for Josh Donaldson, led the group, being named as the No. 23 prospect in all of baseball. The shortstop stands only 5-foot-9, but his bat is seen as a big tool that will lead him to the bigs.
Barreto, 19, hit .302/.333/.500 with 13 home runs in 90 games played for the Stockton Ports in Advanced-A ball. He was also named the No. 8 shortstop prospect in baseball.
[STIGLICH: Reviewing top A's prospects in new-look farm system]
Sean Manaea, who the A's acquired from the Royals as part of a package for Ben Zobrist, was next in line as the No. 68 prospect.
Last season, Manaea, 23, showed why the Royals took him in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Between three different levels, finishing in Double-A, Manaea went 7-1 with a 2.66 ERA. He also struck out 90 batters in 74.1 innings pitched.
Manaea played in the Arizona Fall League after his minor league season and was named the starting pitcher for the Fall Stars Game. The lefty dominated his competition, throwing two scoreless innings while striking out four.
Will he get a chance to crack the team's starting rotation?
“Sean Manaea probably is a little bit of a wild card going into camp,” A's manager Bob Melvin said. “We don’t expect to have him to start -- we’d like him to get a little seasoning at Triple-A. But we know the upside with him is as high as anybody we have (excluding) Sonny.”
Manaea was also picked as the No. 8 left-handed pitching prospect.
[STIGLICH: Will 'dazzling' Manaea get shot at A's rotation in spring?]
Leading off the Top 100 Prospects list is A's first baseman Matt Olson, as the No. 100 prospect.
Olson, a first-round draft pick by the A's in 2012, is known for his power potential. In four minor league seasons, Olson, 21, has hit 86 home runs.
The left-handed hitting Olson saw his home run total go down last season, but still showed what fans are hoping to see at the big league level. In 2015, Olson hit .249/.388/.438 with 17 home runs, as compared to 37 dingers a year before. Olson played for the Midland RockHounds of Double-A last season.
Olson also played in the Futures Game for Team USA last season. He was named baseball's No. 5 first base prospect.
Dodgers shortstop/third baseman Corey Seager, 21, was named the top prospect heading into the 2016 season.
