2016 Draft Report Card: Oakland Athletics

Best Pure Hitter: 2B Nate Mondou (13) has a fairly mature plate approach and present strength that helped him bat .298/.375/.364 at short-season Vermont.

Best Power Hitter: 2B/3B Javon Shelby (5) struggled with contact in the spring and after signing, but his plus raw power is real. He’s giving center field a try in instructional league as well.

Fastest Runner: OF Jeremiah McCray (25) is a true 70 runner; five of his 23 hits in his debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League were triples.

Best Defensive Player: C Sean Murphy (3) has plenty of strength at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, and was the best defensive catcher in the draft. He’s a potential plus defender with a plus arm, good hands and agility who just needs more polish. SS Eli White (11) has the athletic ability and arm to stick at shortstop, but his focus wanders at times.

Best Fastball: LHP A.J. Puk (1) was in play to go No. 1 overall before falling to the A’s at No. 6 overall. The A’s didn’t think he’d be there for them until draft day arrived and he started falling. His 95-97 mph fastball and the leverage he gets on it at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, makes him tough to square up and elevate. He’ll have to locate it better and more consistently as a pro.

Best Secondary Pitch: RHPs Daulton Jefferies (1s) and Logan Shore (2) both have plus changeups at least, with Jefferies getting some 70 grades from scouts. Early in the year, the A’s were evaluating whether he would fit at No. 6, but an injury helped push him to their second pick, No. 37.

Best Pro Debut: White struck out a lot but hit .279/.348/.368 with 12 stolen bases, mostly with Vermont. RHP Brandon Bailey (6) went 3-1, 3.08 with 42-9 strikeouts-walk rate with Vermont. He’s got a solid-average slider and above-average changeup to go with a low-90s fastball but stands just 5-foot-10. Already 23, 5-foot-8 2B Josh Vidales (28) hit .345/.437/.507 as he led the Rookie-level Arizona League in batting and on-base percentage.

Best Athlete: McCray is smaller than White but with more speed, while White has lean, angular athleticism that will keep him in the dirt.

Most Intriguing Background: Shelby’s father John spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors, and he has two older brothers who have played pro ball. RHP Mitchell Jordan (10) tied the Cape Cod League record for lowest ERA in 2015 with a 0.21 mark; he shares the record with ex-big leaguer Eric Milton. Shore and Puk were college roommates at Florida.

Closest To The Majors: Puk gets the edge over the more-polished Jefferies and Shore because he could wind up moving quickly as a reliever. Oakland has no plans to put him in the bullpen at this time.

Best Late-Round Pick: White qualifies, as does RHP Nolan Blackwood (14), a low-slot reliever out of Memphis who competes with a fastball-slider combo.

The One Who Got Away: Hard-throwing RHP Brigham Hill (20) returned to Texas A&M for his junior season after pitching his way into the Aggies’ rotation during the season.