OAKLAND, Calif. – ­­­­The Oakland A’s signed three selections from the 2020 First-Year Player Draft including right-handed pitcher Jeff Criswell (2nd round, Michigan), outfielder Michael Guldberg (3rd, Georgia Tech) and right-handed pitcher Dane Acker (4th, Oklahoma). The A’s also signed non-drafted free agent William Simoneit, a catcher from Wake Forest.

Criswell was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 24.0 innings in four starts with Michigan this year. He was an All-Big Ten First Team selection as a sophomore when he went 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 106.0 innings. The 21-year-old right-hander was 10-4 with a 2.88 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 162.1 innings in 50 games, including 21 starts, in three seasons with the Wolverines.

Guldberg was leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with a .450 batting average and had just three strikeouts in 72 plate appearances in 16 games this year for Georgia Tech before the season ended early. He was second in the ACC with a .355 batting average last year after hitting .368 as a freshman. The 20-year-old right-handed hitter batted .374 with three home runs and 50 RBI in 104 games in three seasons with the Yellow Jackets. 

Acker made just four starts for Oklahoma this year and was 1-1 with a 3.51 ERA, .170 opponents batting average and 28 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. He tossed a no-hitter against 11th ranked LSU on March 1 at Minute Maid Park, striking out 11 and walking just one. The 21-year-old right-hander spent his sophomore season at San Jacinto College, where he went 10-0 with a 2.36 ERA in 14 starts, and was a Conference USA All-Freshman selection in 2018 at Rice.

Simoneit spent four seasons at Cornell University and earned All-Ivy League honors his final three seasons. He batted .306 with 27 doubles, 13 home runs and 74 RBI in 99 games before transferring to Wake Forest as a graduate student. The 23-year-old right-handed hitter was batting .377 with five doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI in 17 games for the Demon Deacons this year.