The A's Draft Pick GM David Forst was Excited to See Available
Last Sunday was the first day of the 2023 MLB Draft, and after a rough 2022 campaign that had the Oakland A's finish with the second-worst record in baseball, they ended up with the number six selection in the first round thanks to the brand new draft lottery system.
Even though the A's fell four spots from where they would have selected in previous years, the team still had the second overall pick in subsequent rounds, which allowed them to map out their draft strategy for the second day of the Draft.
While meeting with reporters before Friday's game, A's GM David Forst was asked if there was a player that fell to the A's that they were excited to pick that they were not expecting to see where they took them.
"That's a good question. Steven Echavarria in the third round was not someone we still expected to be there. The way the Draft works now with slots and bonuses, under-slot deals, over-slot deals, you never know quite how it's gonna play out. But having the second pick on day two I think played to our advantage so that we could kind of talk to Steven the night before, and know that he was going to be available unless the one team ahead of us picked him. But to have that opportunity, I think made day two pretty exciting."
Echavarria turns 18 in just a few weeks and has a commitment to the University of Florida. Perfect Game had him ranked as their #40 draft prospect, while MLB Pipeline had him ranked #60. Either way, for Echavarria to be available to the A's with the 72nd pick in the Draft seems like a steal for Oakland.
Forst said they were able to talk to him the night before they ended up selecting him, which could end up being pretty important since it looks as though it'll take an over-slot deal (slot value for that pick is $1,005,700) to sign him. Pipeline suggests that Echavarria is similar to Seattle Mariners draftee Michael Morales from the 2021 draft. He was selected 82nd overall and signed for $1.5 million. The slot value for that pick in 2021 was $733,100.
With the A's taking Jacob Wilson with the six overall selection, a few picks before he was expected to go, they may have freed up enough cash in their bonus pool to make signing Echavarria possible. The sixth pick in the draft had a slot value of $6,634,000 million, while the tenth pick, where MLB Pipeline had him ranked, had a value of $5,475,300 million. If Wilson signs for tenth pick money, that's $1,158,700 that can be used elsewhere to sign players--like Echavarria. You also have to think that with Forst and the A's talking with the righty the night before they selected him that they know what the number is that will have him sign with the club.
The right-hander is 6-foot-1 and sits around 94 with his fastball, which has also touched 98. On top of a recent bump in velocity, he can also throw all four of his pitches for strikes.