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The Oakland Telegraph
2 June 2025
A's take shortstop Liam Brown in amateur draft
By Rookie Wilson, player draft correspondent
Oakland general manager Paulie Beane broke the habit of a lifetime and, get this, actually drafted a batter with his first pick in the player draft. Yes, that's not a typo, you read that right. A batter. Not a pitcher, for once. An actual real life computer-generated fictitious batter. He chose shortstop Liam Brown (19/R/1*), a contact hitter who has good defensive skills across the infield positions and in the corner outfield spots, with the 24th selection in round one.
Insiders say that making this choice brought Beane out in a cold sweat and he was violently sick in a corner of the Coliseum's drafting room. Even one of his nerve-settling triple whiskies couldn't sort him out. He started to recuperate, however, when, with Oakland's second pick, field manager Phil D'Manager leant into the phone and chose righty Venezuelan reliever Sergio Chavez (23/R/0.5*), presumably no relation to former president Hugo. Beane's rehabilitation inside the increasingly vomit-scented room was completed when the A's then chose promising reliever Armando Rodriguez (21/L/0.5*) in round three, whose potential may have been underrated by other clubs because he was classified for the draft as a closer. The amazing A's farm system now contains 12 minor league pitchers who their scout projects to 3* ability or higher. Their remaining draft picks aren't even worth mentioning, but all the best to them in their future unfulfilled brief careers anyway.
The youngsters join a club that is surging with confidence. Oakland have been fantastic in June when their relief pitching hasn't literally thrown games away, and are 15-6 over their last 21 games. That run has carried them to a 33-18 record as of yesterday, giving them a four game lead in the American League West and the best record in Major League Baseball. No one would bet against a four-peat right now.
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