Colby Grant Thomas was originally signed by A’s scout Jemel Spearman…graduated from Valdosta (Ga.) High School…played collegiately at Mercer College…was a .292 career hitter in college with 35 doubles, three triples, 32 home runs, 100 RBI and 26 stolen bases across three seasons from 2020-22.
2025
Spent most of the season at Triple-A Las Vegas where he batted .291 with 18 home runs, 74 RBI and a .894 OPS in 82 games…also made his Major League debut with the A's and hit .225 with six home runs, 19 RBI and a .684 OPS in 49 games over two stints...Struck out 49 times in 132 plate appearances with the A's (2.69 plate appearances per strikeouts) and drew just seven walks...Hit .246 (15-for-65) with all six of his home runs, 16 of his 19 RBI, six of his seven walks and a .895 OPS against left-handed pitchers…batted .203 (12-for-59) with a .463 OPS against right-handers...Four of his six home runs came with runners on base…four came at home and three gave the A's the lead...Batted .092 with two strikes...Started 14 games in right field, 11 in center field and four in left field…did not commit an error in 44 games and 66 total chances overall in the outfield...Was 1-for-14 (.071) with two walks and nine strikeouts as a pinch hitter...Made starts at every spot in the batting order except second and ninth…saw his most action with eight starts in the both the four and five spot…hit four of his six home runs while batting clean-up...His .291 batting average with Las Vegas was a career high in his three minor league seasons, as was his .366 on-base percentage…also had a career-high seven sacrifice flies...Struck out 103 times and his average of 3.73 plate appearances per strikeout was the lowest of his career...Tied for second in the A's farm system in home runs, ranked third in RBI, tied for third in extra base hits (41) and tied for ninth in runs (66)...Was named as the recipient of the Mayors Trophy with the Aviators, an award that is voted on by fans...Batted .327 (32-for-98) with a .913 OPS against left-handed pitchers, .277 with a .886 OPS against right-handers...Connected for 10 of his 18 home runs with the runners on base…was 6-for-15 (.400) with a double, two walks and 14 RBI with the bases loaded...Hit .291 with nine home runs at home, .291 with nine home runs on the road. Batted .356 with seven home runs in 17 day games, .273 with 11 home runs in 65 night games...Had a .137 batting average with two strikes...Started 53 games in right field, 17 in center field, nine in left field and two at designated hitter…committed two errors in 79 games overall in the outfield (.987 fielding percentage)… tied for fifth among Pacific Coast League outfielders in assists (6)…now has 31 career outfield assists, which are tied for 11th most in the Minors dating back to 2023...Saw most of his action with 61 starts batting clean-up…made starts in each spot in the order from third through seventh.
2024
Made both his Double-A and Triple-A debuts in 2024 and batted a combined .277 with 31 home runs, 92 RBI and a .905 OPS in 132 games...Also had 44 doubles and five triples and his 80 extra base hits tied for second most by an A’s Minor Leaguer since 1963…it was second most to Adam Piatt, who had 91 extra base hits for Vancouver and Midland in 1999…his 44 doubles were the most by an A’s Minor Leaguer since Jason Parry had 44 for Midland and Modesto in 2004...Led all of Minor League baseball in extra base hits, ranked second in doubles and total bases (289), tied for fourth in home runs and tied for 10th in RBI...Led the A’s farm system in slugging (.563), OPS, home runs, RBI, hits (142), doubles, extra base hits and total bases, tied for fourth in runs (79) and hit by pitches (14), tied for fifth in triples and ranked seventh in batting…had the fourth most strikeouts (142)...Was batting .282 with 14 home runs, 47 RBI and a .908 OPS in 59 games with Midland when he was moved up to Las Vegas on June 18…was leading the Texas League in OPS, slugging (.568), RBI, doubles (19) and extra base hits (36) at the time of his promotion, was tied for the lead in home runs and ranked second in hits (66)…went on to hit .272 with 17 home runs, 45 RBI an a .903 OPS in 73 games with the Aviators…from June 18 through the end of the season, he led the Pacific Coast League in extra base hits (44), tied for the lead in doubles (25), tied for fourth in home runs and ranked fifth in slugging (.559)...His batting average broke down to .307 (115-for-374) with 26 of his 31 home runs, 77 of his 92 RBI and a .992 OPS against right-handed pitchers compared to .194 (27-for-139) with a .675 OPS against left-handers…his career splits are .300 with a .920 OPS against righties, .234 with a .760 OPS against lefties...Combined for a .310 batting average in his home ballparks...Hit 30 of his 31 home runs at night…17 came with runners on base. Started 97 games in left field, 25 in right field (all with Las Vegas) and eight at designated hitter…had 15 outfield assists and committed just one error in 123 games overall in the outfield for a .996 fielding percentage...Doubled in his lone pinch hitting appearance...Started games at every spot in the order except leadoff and clean-up…made 59 starts batting third and 23 hitting fifth...Was named to the TL Postseason All-Star team…was rated as the A’s seventh-best prospect by MLB.com following the season…named to the All-MiLB Prospect Second Team.
