Former Los Angeles Dodgers Prospect Projected To Break Camp With The Athletics

Fangraphs' Roster Reference has A's non-roster invitee, Drew Avans, making the A's Opening Day Roster.

Mar 9, 2025; Peoria, Arizona, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Drew Avans (35) with a home run in the first inning during a spring training game between the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images

This past November, the A's signed outfielder Drew Avans to a minor-league contract. Avans spent his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and was drafted by them back in 2018 in the 33rd round. The speedy outfielder has shown his ability to hit over the course of his minor league career, and could get a big-league chance with the Sacramento Athletics this season.

Last season with the Dodgers' Triple-A squad, the 28-year-old batted .272 with an OPS of .762 and notably swiped 35 bags in 625 plate appearances. After a great season in the minor leagues, and without a call-up from the Dodgers, Avans took his talents to the Mexican Pacific Winter League to get extra at-bats.

The Winter League stint for Avans went quite well. In 277 plate appearances, he batted .280 with a whopping 27 stolen bases. Not only was Avans showing his ability to hit for average, but also being able to swipe bags and have a solid glove in the outfield.

Avans would head into A's camp as a non-roster invitee, and he's done nothing but impress the team since the start of camp. In his first 28 plate appearances in Spring Training, Avans has posted a .333 average and a 1.054 OPS, including a massive home run against his former organization, the Dodgers.

Drew Avans - Sacramento Athletics (1)* pic.twitter.com/8OLUGv1uDq

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) March 9, 2025

After his impressive start to this spring, FanGraphs now has Avans making the A's opening day roster. Originally, young outfielder Esteury Ruiz was projected to land a spot on the A's roster, and now Avans has "taken" his spot for now.

Ruiz has gotten off to a really slow start in camp, batting just 3-for-24, which is good for a .125 batting average. Notably, the speedster has no stolen bases, while Avans has swiped a pair of bags himself.

Because Fangraphs has Avans on the Opening Day Roster, they have Max Schuemann and Darell Hernaiz starting their 2025 campaigns in Triple-A. Schuemann likely has an edge on Avans on making the roster due to the fact that he spent a majority of the 2024 season on the A's roster, and was quickly becoming a fan favorite.

The A's coaches also seem to enjoy him quite a bit, and his versatility could certainly be useful.

Also, to make room for Avans to make the roster, not only does there need to be space on the 26-man roster, but also the 40-man roster. Whereas for Schuemann, he's already on the club's 40-man roster.

Just because Fangraphs has Avans making the roster doesn't necessarily mean it's a lock to happen. His performance from last season in Triple-A, his performance in the Winter League, as well as his performance to start the Spring all give him a good chance to break camp with the A's. It's a similar path to the one that Miguel Andujar took to the A's roster last season.

It's uncertain if the A's would clear up space on the 40-man for Avans, but if they decide to, it could impact the team positively, as they'd gain a solid bat with great speed.