A's No. 21 prospect could be next super-utility man

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.

MESA, Ariz. -- Of the 40 players remaining in A’s big league camp, Max Schuemann is arguably the most intriguing of the bunch.

The A’s have long been an organization that values versatility in a player. Schuemann, ranked Oakland’s No. 21 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is as versatile as it gets, having logged at least 100 innings at every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher in five Minor League seasons.

Schuemann’s positional flexibility was of great interest to A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who has made it a point to keep a close eye on him over the past month.

“I wanted to get a longer look at him, which we’ve done this Spring Training,” Kotsay said. “He’s a baseball player. He’s not going to be toolsy. Nothing is going to wow you. But he’s fundamentally sound. He can play all over the field. He’s someone you could see at some point this season helping this club if the opportunity presents itself.”

Schuemann vaulted himself onto the big league radar in 2023 by slashing .276/.402/.430 with 10 homers, 20 doubles and 51 RBIs in a combined 116 games, 103 of which came at Triple-A Las Vegas. Defensively, he saw time at second, third, shortstop and each of the outfield positions.

The utility role is something Schuemann has performed dating back to his college days at Eastern Michigan, where he received regular playing time at all four infield spots over three seasons.

“If he didn’t have that ability, his window would probably be even more limited in that approach to getting to the big leagues,” Kotsay said of Schuemann. “He’s a player that reminds me of Jonah Bride when he was here. Jonah was athletic, but I don’t know that he was as athletic as Max in terms of going out in the outfield and being able to play basically all over the field. It’s helped Max, for sure.”

While Kotsay threw out Bride as a comp, the A’s director of player development Ed Sprague likened Schuemann to Chad Pinder, who carved out an important super-utility role during the A’s stretch of three consecutive playoff seasons from 2018-20.

“He’s kind of like Pinder was,” Sprague said of Schuemann. “He plays every position on the diamond. Probably a little better defensively than Pinder and a little quicker. He doesn’t have the power, but he’s a super-utility guy who can really do it all. We like him a lot. It’s very rare you get a guy that can play every position on the diamond and play it above average.”

Taking part in his first big league camp this spring as a non-roster invitee, Schuemann has fared well in Cactus League play, entering Saturday 8-for-26 (.308) with a homer and three RBIs in 14 games. While he is unlikely to crack the Opening Day roster, there is a good chance the 26-year-old utility man’s first Major League opportunity will come at some point in 2024.