Assessing A's prospects two weeks into Arizona Fall League

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Eight prospects were sent to represent the A’s in the Arizona Fall League. Some are looking to make up for lost time earlier this season due to injuries, while others seek to make adjustments and fine-tune their game ahead of 2025.

Assistant general manager and director of player personnel Billy Owens has been down in Arizona to take in the action from the early part of the AFL schedule. With two weeks of games in the books, he provided assessments on some of the A’s young talent playing for the Mesa Solar Sox.

OF Henry Bolte (A’s No. 5 prospect)

2024 (High-A Lansing/Double-A Midland) regular-season stats: .267/.368/.466 (.834 OPS), 15 home runs, 32 doubles, eight triples, 73 RBIs, 46 stolen bases in 123 games
AFL stats: 24 at-bats, .167 average, .619 OPS, one homer, one double, one RBI, four walks, 11 strikeouts, one stolen base
Owens: "Henry is a monster specimen with a dynamic power/speed toolset. The Fall League is a great venue to refine and tighten his approach."

OF Denzel Clarke (No. 10)

2024 (Double-A Midland) regular-season stats: .269/.339/.445 (.784 OPS), 13 home runs, 21 doubles, eight triples, 53 RBIs, 36 stolen bases in 116 games
AFL stats: 25 at-bats, .400 average, .945 OPS, three RBIs, six walks, seven strikeouts, five stolen bases
Owens: "Denzel has freakish athleticism and electric tools. Every day on the diamond in the Fall League is an opportunity to turn those freak tools into high-caliber skills."

C Daniel Susac (No. 11)

2024 (Double-A Midland) regular-season stats: .257/.300/.434 (.734 OPS), 12 home runs, 19 doubles, three triples, 50 RBIs, seven stolen bases in 88 games
AFL stats: 21 at-bats, .286 average, 1.086 OPS, two homers, one double, seven RBIs, five walks, five strikeouts, one stolen base
Owens: "Daniel carries similarities to [Reds catcher] Tyler Stephenson. The Fall League is a great stepping stone for Susac to showcase his two-way possibilities."

RHP Jake Walkinshaw (unranked)

2024 (Rookie-level ACL Athletics/Double-A Midland) stats: 14 games (13 starts), 1-2 record, 3.15 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 12 walks in 40 innings pitched
AFL stats: Eight innings, 5.63 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 5.63 K/9, 2.25 BB/9
Owens: "Walkinshaw is a strike thrower with quality and variety to his repertoire. He’s here in the desert to accumulate more innings. The diversity of his mix and assertive mindset creates legitimate Major League aspirations for him."