De Vries among top prospects to show promise in A's camp

MESA, Ariz. – Considering his status as one of baseball’s truly elite prospects, it was set up to be nearly impossible for Leo De Vries to live up to the hype as he entered his first big league camp with the Athletics.

Not only did De Vries, MLB’s No. 4 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, meet those lofty expectations, but he also showed all the skills required to compete at the highest level – all at the ripe age of 19. Defensively, he looked like a Major League shortstop with a strong arm and sure hands. At the plate, he routinely took quality at-bats against big league pitchers.

From the eyes of A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who, along with the rest of his coaching staff, closely evaluated De Vries this spring for the first time since joining the organization as part of a package from the Padres for Mason Miller last year, the final step for the teenage phenom’s development is on the physical side. That was the message Kotsay imparted to De Vries on Sunday afternoon after he was reassigned to Minor League camp.

“The biggest thing for Leo is to get in the weight room and really put the work in to add the muscle,” Kotsay said before Monday’s 3-0 win over the Angels at Hohokam Stadium. “We can all add weight, but it has to be good weight, and it has to be a strength component that he can maintain for 140 games or more. I think that’s what Leo recognized through our meeting yesterday.”

De Vries put a bow on his impressive spring by crushing a home run off Guardians starter Tanner Bibee at an exit velocity of 103.1 mph during Sunday’s 12-6 loss at Goodyear Ballpark. In 17 spring games, the switch-hitting shortstop hit .409 (18-for-44) with three homers, three doubles, 11 RBIs and three stolen bases.

The A’s will likely send De Vries to Double-A Midland to start the year, but the anticipation for his eventual call to the Majors is already building – and could come perhaps as early as this season.

“Does he have the skillset to play in the big leagues? Absolutely,” Kotsay said. “The talent? Yes. Now, it’s going to just be the ability to withstand a season and maintain the strength and have that burst throughout the season.”

De Vries headlined a group of A’s top prospects reassigned to Minor League camp on Sunday who left a strong impression. Also among the cuts were left-hander Gage Jump (A’s No. 3 prospect and MLB No. 57 overall), outfielder Henry Bolte (A’s No. 5) and third baseman Tommy White (No. 9).

Jump appeared in four spring games and allowed just two runs in 9 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts. The 22-year-old southpaw is expected to begin the year at Triple-A Las Vegas, and his advanced arsenal shown throughout camp suggests his debut is on the horizon.

“Just continue to pound the strike zone and go perform,” Kotsay said of his message to Jump as he’s reassigned to the Minors. “It’s not if he’s going to be here, it’s when he gets here. The polishing there is just being able to finish at-bats, pitching into the sixth inning, taking advantage of the bottom-half of those lineups and going out and having a lot of success.”

Bolte was arguably the MVP of camp, hitting .375 in 16 games with three homers, three doubles, eight RBIs and two stolen bases while also playing stellar defense in center field.

“For Bolte, there’s reason to think he can have an impact on this ballclub this year with what he was doing in Spring Training,” Kotsay said. “He’s the most physical out of the younger group that isn’t going to start out with us, for sure. He’s arguably, next to Denzel [Clarke], the most athletic, and next to [Brent Rooker], the most powerful. So, there’s a lot to like about Henry.”

White, meanwhile, hit .441 with four homers, two doubles and 15 RBIs. More importantly, he displayed improved defense, which has been a knock on him since coming out of college at LSU in 2024, at both third base and first base.

“He’s got elite bat-to-ball skill,” said Kotsay. “But in camp I saw a player that really took to heart the message of, ‘Hey, you need to really go get strong. You really need to go work on your speed and defense.’ He took that to heart. He maximized his offseason and was a part of a group of young players that showed that they’re going to push these [Major League] guys.”