Max Schrock

Schrock joined his third organization this offseason, despite being one of the best pure hitters in the minors. He was traded to St. Louis along with fellow middle infielder Yairo Munoz in the deal that sent Stephen Piscotty to Oakland. The trade made all the sense in the world, as the Cardinals were overflowing with outfielders and the A's had a surplus of close-to-the-majors infielders. Schrock rarely strikes out, and he's never finished a season with a K% above 10 percent. Putting the ball in play frequently, he has never hit lower than .308 in a season. That said, he is not and will never be the caliber of prospect that Kolten Wong was four years ago, and Wong seems to struggle annually to find everyday at-bats at the keystone in St. Louis. Barring a mechanical change, Schrock has minimal power/speed potential, and his glove isn't good enough to buy him additional playing time. At Triple-A this season, he will prepare for a future role as a utility player.

Schrock was selected in the 13th round of the 2015 draft out of South Carolina by the Washington Nationals, but the draft slot was deceiving. He did nothing but rake during the 2016 campaign, hitting .333 with nine home runs and 68 RBI in 121 games between Low-A Hagerstown and High-A Potomac for the Nats. He also swiped 22 bags over that span. Washington dealt him to the A's for bullpen help in the form of Mark Rzepczynski at the end of August, and Schrock finished the season at Double-A Midland. He will likely return there to begin the 2017 season. Despite a lack of size at 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, Schrock has shown more pop than expected from the left side of the plate. Most impressively, he has a career 58:44 K:BB in 706 minor league at-bats. It is not a toolsy profile, and he is likely unowned in the majority of dynasty leagues, but his approach and well-rounded skill set makes him one of the more intriguing second base prospects in the upper levels of the minors.