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The Oakland Telegraph
6 April 2032
A's youngsters Rios and Vasquez feature in new Top 100 prospects list
By Juan Hundredprospects, minor leagues correspondent
Oakland are already one of the youngest teams in the MLB, but the future looks even rosier after the publication last night of BNN's annual Shot-in-the-dark-athon, the Top 100 Prospects List. The A's posted no fewer than three minor leaguers in the top twelve, with corner outfielder Pepe Rios climbing to #3, and righty starting pitchers Anastasio Vasquez and Joe Byrd appearing at #10 and #12 respectively. Pundits, those unimpeachable fountains of baseball knowledge, who have such insight into the game that they are unable to find employment actually working for a baseball team, predict that Rios and Byrd are likely to be on the major league roster before this season is over.
Fellow starter Elvin Dennis also features, at #39. Acquisitions over the past year, infielder Harvey Turner and outfielder Jean-Francois Pelletier, are at positions #43 and #63. Completing the A's complement are catchers Chun-mei Leong (#84) and Ben Jones (#87). General manager Paulie Beane paid what is becoming an annual tribute to minor league manager Ron Washington-Deecy and sabermetrician Mike Rosoft-Excel for their work in identifying and developing such talented young players. Beane said: "I like to ensure my staff in this organisation are generously rewarded for outstanding achievements. So, I have given Ron and Mike a $50 book token. Each! They can spend that on absolutely anything they want, as long as it's a book from the only local store that has signed up to our tokens scheme. I do surprise myself with my altruism sometimes. Well done to them both, they are a credit to this club."
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