The Oakland A's have agreed to terms with four players from the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, including outfielder Greg Deichmann (2nd round, Louisiana State), infielder Nick Allen (3rd, Francis Parker HS), right-handed pitcher Brian Howard (8th, Texas Christian) and left-handed pitcher Jared Poche (9th, Louisiana State).
Deichmann started all 72 games for LSU this year, helping lead the Tigers to a College World Series berth. The 6-2, 209-pound junior hit .308 with 19 home runs and 73 RBI en route to All-America honors. The Metairie, La. product led the state of Louisiana in home runs for three straight years at Brother Martin High School.
Allen garnered 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason First Team All-American honors as a high school senior and went on to bat .303 with 10 doubles and one home run in 23 games. A four-year varsity player, Allen posted a .469 batting average during his junior season while only committing three errors.
Howard had a 3.77 ERA in 19 starts this season and led the Horned Frogs in innings pitched (105.0) and strikeouts (113). As a junior in 2016, he ended the season on the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament team and on the NCAA Fort Worth All-Regional team. He was drafted in 2016 by the Houston Astros in the 17th round but did not sign.
Poche went 12-4 with a 3.17 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) with Louisiana State and set the school record for wins on June 21 in a College World Series win over Florida State. He finished his LSU career with a record of 39-12 in four seasons. In 2014, he was a Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball), Second Team Freshman All-American (Baseball America, Perfect Game, NCBWA) and a member of the SEC All-Tournament team.