A's Select Four Players on Day 2 of First-Year Player Draft
The Oakland A's completed the 2020 First-Year Player Draft by choosing four college players on day two. The A's selected right-handed pitcher Jeff Criswell from Michigan in the second round, outfielder Michael Guldberg from Georgia Tech in the third round, right-handed pitcher Dane Acker from Oklahoma in the fourth round and right-handed pitcher Stevie Emanuels from Washington in the fifth round.
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.
Emanuels was a Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American in 2020 after going 3-1 with a 0.79 ERA in four starts for the University of Washington. He struck out 38 in 22.2 innings in his first season as a starter after appearing in 65 games, 64 in relief, over his first two seasons with the Huskies. The 21-year-old right-hander was 13-6 with seven saves, a 2.81 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 121.2 innings in 69 games in three college seasons.