Athletics Breakout MLB Prospects For 2025
Entering 2025, we’re projecting a number of Athletics prospects to have the potential for a breakout season.
To qualify, a player must rank outside the organization’s Top 10 prospects entering the year. All scouting reports are from Baseball America’s 2025 Prospect handbook, which you can purchase here.
You can find Top 10 prospect rankings for all teams here and all breakout candidates here.
Athletics Top Prospects For 2025
We rank the top players in the Athletics’ system entering the season, complete with new scouting reports, tools, grades & more.
Breakout Prospects
Steven Echavarria, RHP
Preseason Rank: 12
BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
Track Record: The Athletics coaxed Echavarria out of a Florida commitment with a $3 million bonus that was equivalent to late first-round money in the third round of the 2023 draft. The New Jersey native impressed A’s brass in instructional league that year. They assigned the 18-year-old righthander to Low-A Stockton in early May 2024, where he was one of the youngest pitchers in the California League. Echavarria struggled to a 6.55 ERA and 1.90 WHIP over 57.2 innings.
Scouting Report: Despite the unsightly surface-level production, Echavarria’s pure stuff rivaled the best teenage starters in the minors in 2024. He throws a pair of mid-90s fastballs that touched 98 mph in 2024. His mid-80s slider took a step forward, appearing firmer and flashing plus potential, and the A’s believe the shape of his breaking ball got even bigger in instructs after the season. Echavarria also willingly leaned on an upper-80s changeup with plenty of armside fade that has above-average potential. His command, however, evaded him in 2024. Echavarria fell behind too frequently and particularly struggled with fastball command when he tried to make up ground. There’s still optimism he’ll throw starter strikes because of his loose, athletic delivery and projectable frame. The A’s feel there are some biomechanical adjustments he can make to create more efficiency.
The Future: Echavarria’s age, pitch mix and athleticism provide optimism he has a mid-rotation ceiling, even if it’ll be a slow burn. Echavarria should return to Low-A Stockton to begin 2025.
Scouting Grades: FB: 55. SL: 55. CH: 55. CTL: 50.
Josh Kuroda-Grauer, SS
Preseason Rank: 15
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Kuroda-Grauer was a bat-to-ball specialist at Rutgers who hit .428 during his junior spring in 2024, trailing only Rockies No. 3 overall pick Charlie Condon in Division I batting average. The Athletics drafted him in the third round and signed him to a bonus just over $1 million. Kuroda-Grauer performed well enough in a limited pro debut for the A’s to feel comfortable sending him to Triple-A Las Vegas for a brief four-game stint to end the year. He hit .324/.421/.343 combined, mostly in the lower minors.
Scouting Report: Kuroda-Grauer’s superb hitting ability draws comparisons to another A’s shortstop contact maven: 2023 first-rounder Jacob Wilson. He rarely misses, especially in zone. And while neither projects for more than below-average power, Kuroda-Grauer may end up being a bit more physical than Wilson. Kuroda-Grauer never hit more than six homers in college—he hit none in 26 Cape Cod League games in 2023—and he’ll need to get better at discerning and elevating pitches he can impact. The team raves internally about Kuroda-Grauer’s makeup, comparing him to former A’s infielder Marcus Semien. He’ll get a chance to stick at shortstop, where he has solid hands, instincts and range, but his fringe-average arm may be better suited for second base, and he can handle several positions.
The Future: While his lack of power is limiting, Kuroda-Grauer could jump on the fast track in 2025 thanks to his combination of contact skills and defensive versatility.
Scouting Grades: HIT: 60. POW: 30. RUN: 60. FLD: 50. ARM: 45.
Will Johnston, LHP
Preseason Rank: 23
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
Track Record: Johnston mostly pitched out of the bullpen over three seasons at Texas A&M before the Athletics drafted him in the 13th round in 2023 and signed him for just $150,000. They stretched him out over the offseason and deployed him as part of their bulk-inning tandem grouping at the lower levels to successful results in 2024. Johnston posted a 3.88 ERA and 137 strikeouts to 40 walks over 99.2 innings and reached Double-A Midland to end the year.
Scouting Report: The 6-foot-3 lefty deploys a deceptive north-south attack that keys off his outlier vertical arm slot. Johnston’s low-90s fastball is thrown with nearly 19 inches of induced vertical break from that over-the-top angle and is at its best staying above bats at the top of the zone. He pairs it with a 79-83 mph split-changeup that flashes above-average shape and tunnels well off the fastball. The A’s worked with him to throw it with more conviction against lefties. His third offering is a fringy low-80s slider with some vertical movement. Johnston has thrown enough strikes so far to suggest he could stay in a starting role.
The Future: Developing a better breaking ball—and perhaps adding a tick more velocity—would certainly help Johnston stay on a back-of-the-rotation track. He has a fallback as a funky multi-inning reliever.
Scouting Grades: FB: 50. SL: 45. CH: 55. CTL: 50.
