A's 19-Year-Old Goes Deep Twice Against Los Angeles Dodgers
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Maybe it's because he was a San Diego Padres prospect at this time last year, but A's top prospect Leo De Vries went completely bonkers against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first appearance against them this spring. Now the Dodgers get to deal with Mason Miller in the present, and De Vries, at least on occasion, in the near future.
The Padres and Dodgers have a heated rivalry in the big leagues, and it would make sense for a prospect as talented as De Vries to take on some of that dislike for the other team in his time in the minor leagues.
On Sunday, the switch-hitting 19-year-old ended up blasting his first home run of the spring against right-hander Kyle Hurt, who is still recovering from right elbow surgery. His second dinger was a grand slam off 24-year-old righty Carson Hobbs.
Leo De Vries is going to rocket to the big leagues this year. https://t.co/8nQaFx0vu8
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) March 8, 2026
De Vries this spring
So far this spring, Leo De Vries has gone 10-for-26 with those two home runs being his lone two extra-base hits. The six RBI racked up on those two home runs are also his full total in camp. De Vries has also notched three runs scored.
Given that he's just 19 years old and in big-league camp with dreams of an MLB debut this season, the lack of extra-base hits shouldn't be worrisome at all. He took a week or two to get acclimated to Double-A last season, and then went completely off in the Double-A postseason. We could be witnessing the beginning of a similar streak right now.
The fact that he's hitting .385 with a .429 OBP through 11 games—with a number of those appearances coming as a starter facing big-league caliber arms—is quite impressive.
De Vries had also appeared in big-league camp with the Padres the past two seasons for short stints, and he ended up going just 3-for-22 (.136) with eight strikeouts. That's a 36% strikeout rate.
So far this spring he has five strikeouts in 26 at-bats, which comes out to a 19.2% strikeout rate, which is much more manageable and shows some of the progress he's made in the past couple of seasons.
The switch-hitting shortstop is likely to head to Double-A to begin the season, but the door has been left open for him to begin the year in Triple-A by the A's front office. We'll find out shortly which stop they decide upon.
Tommy two Tanks
While De Vries will certainly get the headlines (guilty), Tommy White had himself a two-homer day out in Las Vegas as part of Big League Weekend. In the second inning he clocked a solo homer against Los Angeles Angels righty Jack Kochanowicz, and followed that up with a two-run shot off lefty Tayler Saucedo in the eighth inning.
Tommy Tanks servin' up an oppo 🌮 pic.twitter.com/Jm4ZEYvwld
— Athletics (@Athletics) March 8, 2026
White has been performing well this spring, going 8-for-16 with three home runs, four RBI, two walks and just one strikeout. With Wilson signed long-term, McNeil brought in at second, Nick Kurtz at first, and eventually Leo De Vries adding himself to the mix, where White fits on the roster is a bit of a question.
Rising prospect Henry Bolte, now ranked No. 5 in the A's system by MLB Pipeline, also hit a home run in the Vegas game, his first of the spring. He's also been hot this spring, going 12-for-27 (.444) with three doubles, six strikeouts and two stolen bases.
Bolte is sure making the case that he could be part of the A's plans shortly as well, especially if there's an opening in the outfield.
For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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