After capitalizing on recent picks, A's eager to pick 8th overall in Draft

Take one look at the Athletics playing a game on a given night and it’ll be easy to see what the impact of drafting well can be for a team.

The majority of the A’s starting lineup these days is comprised of players who were drafted by the club. That includes reigning American League Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz (2024 first-round pick) and his runner-up in Jacob Wilson (2023 first-round pick), Henry Bolte (2022 second-round pick), Zack Gelof (2021 first-round pick), Lawrence Butler (2018 sixth-round pick), Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (2024 third-round pick), Max Muncy (2021 first-round pick) and Tyler Soderstrom (2020 first-round pick).

The ‘24 Draft class in particular is already looking like one of the A’s best in quite some time. In addition to Kurtz and Kuroda-Grauer, Gage Jump (2024 Competitive Balance Round B selection) has already made his way to the big leagues as one of the club’s top starting pitchers.

“I’m very proud of our scouting group and the job they’ve done in the last five, six years,” said A’s general manager David Forst. “There are so many guys drafted and developed through our system that are here on the big league field. It also speaks to the change in the game. … These guys are coming into our system as ready as they’ve ever been and feeling like they can get to the big leagues without too many Minor League at-bats.”

Since the Draft Lottery system was implemented in 2023, the A’s have developed a reputation for coming away somewhat snakebitten through the process each time out. After falling out of the top three picks in ‘23 and ‘24 despite carrying the best odds to land the first overall pick both times, the A’s had a brief respite from the Lottery in ‘25, ineligible for the Lottery and unable to pick any earlier than 10th in the 2025 Draft due to receiving revenue-sharing payouts and holding lottery picks in '23 and '24.

Back in the Lottery this year, that downward trend continued again as the A’s landed the No. 8 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft despite entering the Lottery with the fifth-best odds for pick No. 1.

“It was nice to have the opportunity to be back in it,” Forst said. “Obviously, we feel like we’ve capitalized on our Draft spot very well the last couple of years.”

• Day 1 picks: 8, 47, 73, 83, 111
• Bonus pool allotment: $13,840,300, 10th-highest in MLB
• Last year’s top pick: Jamie Arnold, SP, pick 11 ... Following the aggressive push through the system by the two first-rounders before him in Kurtz and Wilson, Arnold (the Athletics' No. 2 prospect) joined the A’s in big league camp this spring and was then immediately sent to Double-A Midland to begin his professional career. The 22-year-old left-hander holds a 4.15 ERA in 16 starts for Midland with 85 strikeouts and 38 walks across 80 1/3 innings.
• Breakout 2025 pick: Devin Taylor, OF, pick 48 ... Taylor was considered one of the top college sluggers of his class, and we’re quickly seeing why the A’s were so excited to land him in the second round. He quickly hit his way out of High-A Lansing with a strong showing over the first 51 games of the season and continues to swing it well at Double-A Midland. Between the two levels, Taylor (the A's No. 7 prospect) entered Wednesday slashing a combined .316/.424/.510 with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and 64 RBIs in 82 games. Taylor’s defense remains a question mark, but his bat might help him reach the Majors even sooner than the A’s might have anticipated.