A's Top Prospect From San Diego Padres Trade Lifting Off in Double-A

It's not to often that 18-year-olds play in Double-A, but the A's top prospect is adjusting well

May 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; San Diego Padres hats in the dugout during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

At the beginning of last week, we compared A's top prospect Leo De Vries to Fernando Tatís Jr., being that they were the two players with the most playing time in the Texas League (Double-A) over the past decade in their age 18 seasons.

While Tatís held the edge in a few stats, De Vries, the A's No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 prospect in MLB, was also showing plenty of promise.

After missing a couple of games with a shoulder issue to begin last week, De Vries returned and collected a double and a triple in his first game back, then smashed his first home run in Double-A on Saturday night.

A’s top prospect Leo De Vries just launched his first home run in Double-A. He’s just 18 years old. pic.twitter.com/kbA46Y1Yqn

— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) September 7, 2025

He followed that up with a 2-for-4 outing on Sunday that bumped his batting average up to .267 through 16 games. Funnily enough, he played in 15 games with Hi-A Lansing, and hit .268, though his on-base is a bit higher in Double-A, sitting at .361 compared to the .338 he posted in Lansing.

His walk rate has also soared at the next level, up to 12.5% from 6.2%. In other words, he's basically doubled that rate in a small sample size, and it has crept closer to the 14.1% that he held in Hi-A with the San Diego Padres this season.

Over the past ten years, only three 18-year-olds have recorded at least 20 plate appearances in their age 18 season, and those three are De Vries, Tatís (2017), and Sebastian Walcott (2024) of the Texas Rangers. One could argue that De Vries has been the best of the bunch, which is saying a whole lot.

De Vries: 68 PA / .333 BABIP / 106 wRC+ / 12.5% walk rate / 22.2% strikeout rate

Tatís: 57 PA / .351 BABIP / 67 wRC+ / 3.5% walk rate / 29.8% strikeout rate

Walcott: 24 PA / .467 BABIP / 171 wRC+ / 4.2% walk rate/ 29.2% strikeout rate

All three hit one home run, but as you can see Walcott was more productive in his short stint in the Texas League. He also had the highest BABIP of the bunch, which certainly played a role in his .348 batting average. De Vries has the lowest BABIP, but his approach at the plate has helped him achieve early success in his own way.

The RockHounds have one more series left this season, on the road against the Amarillo Sod Poodles, who will most likely be Midland's opponent in the first round of the Texas League postseason the following week.