Elephant Rumblings: Leo De Vries Getting Third Base Reps

Morning everyone!

The A’s have an off day today as they head to the East Coast for the third time this year. That’s a lot of miles that the team is running up in the early going. On the bright side they’re getting those games out of the way early. The only other times the team will travel that far this season will be in August for three games in Boston against the Red Sox, and September in Tampa against the Rays. Other than that most of the team’s road trips won’t go father than the Midwest, so that’s a positive. Both Philly and Baltimore are struggling so far this year and the A’s could be catching them at the right time. After going just 3-3 on this most recent home stand, a winning record on this upcoming road trip would do wonders for this young squad.

Anyway, checking in down on the farm we’ve gotten an update regarding top prospect Leo De Vries. A shortstop by trade, the organization has begun getting the 19-year-old some reps at the hot corner down in Double-A. Whether this is the new long-term plan for him or just an effort to get him to the big leagues faster isn’t yet known, but it’s an interesting development and one that a lot of people speculated could happen this season.

On paper it makes sense as well. With the presence of Jacob Wilson at De Vries’ natural position of shortstop the team needs to find a position that won’t be blocked this summer/next spring. While incumbent third baseman and former first rounder Max Muncy has shown improvement in his second season, there’s still a lot to be desired from both his bat and especially his glove at the hot corner. Muncy currently ranks as one of the worst defenders at third base this year and the eye test confirms it. Luckily they’ve managed to get some offense out of the position but upgrading the defense at a critical position on the infield would go a long ways.

That’s where this move of De Vries from shortstop to third comes in. Before this season De Vries had only every played shortstop (outside of five games in the AFL back in 2024). There’s been a small contingent of scouts that don’t believe that short is De Vries’ ultimate home. The Athletics’ getting him some playing time at third base doesn’t mean that they’re making that positional switch with him now, just that the team is desperate to get him to the big leagues as soon as possible.

Makes sense. After a slow-ish start from the top prospect in Double-A De Vries has been looking much better in the box and frankly shouldn’t be too far off from a promotion to Las Vegas, who is relying on fellow top prospect Tommy White at the hot corner right now. White has himself had a good start to his season and is looking good facing Triple-A pitching for the first time, but there are questions about his long-term defensive home as well.

It’s only been three games that De Vries has played third base this year. He’s still getting the majority of the reps at shortstop for the Rockhounds, but this could be a development to watch over the coming weeks and months. A player that De Vries has been compared to plenty of, Manny Machado, also began his career as a shortstop before moving to third base in deference to J.J. Hardy. Hardy was a much better fielder than Wilson is now but it’s just worth remembering that it’s not unheard of for a shortstop to move to third base. In fact, it could ultimately be his best position. You never know until you try him out there.

No game today but we’ll be back with coverage tomorrow evening when the team takes on the Phillies for the first of three. Until then, have a great day A’s fans.