Athletics Have the Three Youngest Players on MLB's 60-Man Summer Rosters
There’s a chance when A’s fans look back on baseball trying to play through a pandemic in 2020, one of the auxiliary story lines will have to do with the kids.
There’s no minor league baseball this year, and with baseball organizations limited to 60-player rosters, it’s clear around baseball that player development is mostly on the back burner. Players from the 40-man roster and those who are close to being MLB-ready at the upper minor leagues populate the 60-man rosters.
There are some clubs taking a different road, however, and the A’s are one of them. Oakland will have three teenagers among their 60, and while none of the three – catcher Tyler Soderstrom, shortstop Robert Puason and outfielder Brayan Buelvas – is even remotely expected to play in the big leagues this year, they will be working while most other players their age are not.
Baseball America has ranked the top 15 teenage players in camps, and those three A’s are the three youngest players on the list.
Puason, the Dominican shortstop signed last year during the international signing period, is the only one of the 15 under the age of 18, checking in at 17 years, 291 days. Buelvas, signed out of Colombia in 2018, just turned 18 and is 18 years, 24 days. Soderstrom, the high school catcher out of Turlock taken by the A’s is 18 years and 221 days, making him the youngest American-born players on any big league 60-man camp roster.
According to the Baseball America rankings of the teens, the Rays’ Wander Franco (19 years, 123 days) gets the top ranking. Soderstrom ranks 11th, Puason 14th and Buelvas 15th.
Although some scouts have seen Soderstrom moving from behind the plate on his journey to the big leagues, the A’s like his arm and his tools. They say they want to keep him as a catcher. One of the things Soderstrom, seen as a power hitter, insisted on after being drafted was that he didn’t want to move positions. Having him in camp now will give him a leg up on learning the ins and outs of some of the pitchers in the organization who he’d be catching down the road.
The youngest player on any MLB roster, Puason signed for $5.1 million with the A’s a year ago today on July 2, 2019, the first day of international signings. (The 2020 international signing date has been pushed back to January because of the pandemic). He hasn’t played for the A’s since the signing, so when he reports to the alternative site along with Soderstrom and Buelvas, he’ll be working with the A’s for the first time. He’s a switch-hitter with a strong throwing arm and the scouts like his footwork on defense as is likely to be the A’s shortstop of the future.
Buelvas signed with Oakland in 2018 for $100,000, reported to the Arizona League last summer and put together a .300/.392/.506 slash line in 44 games. Scouts see him as a center fielder with good baseball instincts, moderate speed, a decent arm, average power and good control of the bat through the strike zone. They also like the way he reads the ball off the bat on defense and the way he tracks the ball to his glove.
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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