The Oakland A’s selected eight players on Day 2 of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, the club announced today. The selections include outfielder Colby Thomas (3rd round, Mercer), right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters (4th round, West Virginia), right-handed pitcher Jack Perkins (5th round, Indiana), third baseman Brennan Milone (6th round, Oregon), third baseman Yeniel Laboy (7th round, Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy), right-handed pitcher Micah Dallas (8th round, Texas A&M), outfielder Caeden Trenkle (9th round, Oklahoma State) and second baseman Brock Rodden (10th round, Wichita State).
Thomas batted .325 with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 42 games for Mercer. He walked 34 times for a .451 on-base percentage and compiled a team-leading 1.185 OPS. The 21-year-old right-handed hitter earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball in 2020 after hitting .333 in 16 games. Thomas hit .292 with 32 home runs and 100 RBI in 111 games in three seasons for the Bears.
Watters was 3-7 with a save and a 6.22 ERA in 18 games, including 11 starts, for West Virginia. He struck out 75 batters in 59.1 innings but also walked 41 while allowing a .275 batting average. The 21-year-old right-hander was 7-8 with five saves, a 5.27 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 94.0 innings in three seasons for the Mountaineers.
Perkins was 3-4 with a 5.10 ERA in 16 games, including 15 starts, at Indiana. He struck out 91 batters in 83.0 innings, which was the 10th highest single-season total in Indiana history, but also walked 47 and hit 21 batters. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched for Louisville in 2019 and 21 and graduated in three years with a double major in finance and marketing. Perkins was 7-5 with two saves, a 5.14 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 131.1 innings over 43 games, including 20 starts, in three college seasons.
Milone was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection and earned ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region honors after batting .337 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI in 60 games at Oregon. He walked 25 times for a .405 on-base percentage and had a .950 OPS. The 21-year-old right-handed hitter spent his first two collegiate seasons at South Carolina and hit .293 with 15 home runs and 67 RBI in 103 games in three years at the NCAA level.
Laboy was selected out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto. He is a 17-year-old left-handed hitter who committed to attend Wabash Valley College.
Dallas was 7-3 with a 5.18 ERA in 18 games, including 16 starts, for Texas A&M. He struck out 86 batters in 81.2 innings and walked 22. The 22-year-old right-hander spent his first three collegiate years at Texas Tech where he earned D1 Baseball Freshman All-America honors in 2019 and Second Team Collegiate Baseball All-America honors in 2020. Dallas combined for a 19-8 record, five saves, a 4.05 ERA and 272 strikeouts in 240.0 innings in 59 games, including 39 starts, over four college seasons.
Trenkle hit .302 with six home runs and 41 RBI in 61 games for Oklahoma State and added 30 walks for a .429 on-base percentage. He was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2021 and a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America pick in 2020. The 21-year-old right-handed hitter batted .292 with 14 home runs and 91 RBI in 131 games over three seasons for the Cowboys and walked 67 times for a .405 on-base percentage.
Rodden was named First-Team American Athletic Conference and AAC Newcomer Position Player of the Year after leading the Shockers in batting (.338), on-base percentage (.441), slugging (.653) and OPS (1.094). He added 17 home runs and 48 RBI in 56 games. The 22-year-old switch hitter also attended Seminole State College from 2020-21 and batted a combined .364 with 21 doubles, eight triples and 16 home runs in two seasons with the Trojans.
The A’s have selected 11 players over the first two days of the Draft, including nine college players and two high schoolers. The breakdown includes three pitchers, one catcher, three infielders and four outfielders. The final day of the Draft begins tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. with rounds 11 through 20.
