2026 8th overall pick Burress shows off power on his very first pro swing
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It didn't take long for Drew Burress to take flight.
The eighth overall pick in the 2026 Draft homered on the second pitch of his first professional at-bat for Single-A Stockton in a 5-4 loss to San Jose on Tuesday night at Excite Ballpark.
Burress led off the game for the A's affiliate with the roundtripper to right-center field off right-hander Trey Seeley (Giants). He ended his first contest 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
Burress broke into college baseball with nine long balls in his first eight games for Georgia Tech before going on to set the school record with 60 career blasts. He ranked seventh on the Top 250 Prospects list coming into the Draft. Burress boasted 60-grade power and arm tools while receiving 55 grades for hitting, running and fielding.
"I've always been taught since I was little that you're gonna have more success when you hit the ball in the air and hit the ball hard," Burress said at the MLB Draft Combine in July. "More than anything swing-wise, it's been more approach-wise since I've gotten to college baseball -- learning how to really develop a game plan for each individual pitcher.
"A dude that's throwing 100 [mph] that throws all fastballs is a different approach than a lefty that's throwing 88 that throws 75 percent changeups. That's something that I think Coach [James] Ramsey and the Georgia Tech staff does better than anybody in college baseball is we're able to build approaches and just kind of be ready to go and be most effective for each different guy."
The Athletics brought Burress to Phoenix during a recent road series with the Diamondbacks. The slugger took batting practice with the team, being situated with other quick risers from recent Drafts and ones who were in college two years ago.
The previous two first-round position players drafted by the Athletics -- Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson -- quickly made their way to the big leagues as impact players, and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic their latest first-rounder could continue that trend.
"From everything I've seen, this organization isn’t scared to promote guys if they think they're ready," Burress said this past month. "I just have to go out and do my part playing the game. I'm sure there are going to be times when it's easy and times when it’s not. But, if I just continue to go out there and be myself, I think it can happen pretty quick."