Green and Gold Futures Prospect Weekly: Zane Taylor Blanks Double-A, Echavarria and Avant Find Another Gear
By Ethan Price ·
Green and Gold Futures Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Athletics farm system.
Zane Taylor's Best Outing of the Year at Midland
Zane Taylor (AA, RHP, Rank: 19) was about as good as a pitcher can look over four innings this week, throwing a no-hitter through his entire outing: four innings, zero hits, zero runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts on 63 pitches, 36 of which went for strikes. Seven of those pitches generated swinging misses. The strikeout total on its own might read as modest, but the combination of no baserunners, a 57.1 percent strike rate, and a lineup that could do nothing off him is more revealing. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, he carries a 0.00 ERA across eight innings with a 31.0 percent strikeout rate, and the walk rate has climbed to 13.8 percent over that stretch, though the hit and run prevention have been exceptional.
The fastball sits 94-98 mph and pairs with a 60-grade command profile, making him an unusual arm: a pitcher with above-average velocity who also has a real feel for where the ball is going. The risk throughout 2026 has been the home run exposure at Double-A, where his ERA stands at 4.33 across 27 innings, and the season-long walk rate of 11.1 percent at this level is a step back from what he showed at High-A. This outing looked like the version of Taylor where the fastball command and secondary mix, particularly the changeup and sweeper, are operating as a coherent package. A 55-grade four-seamer with a 60 command grade is enough to project as a back-end starter, and the last 30 days suggest the Double-A bump may be leveling off. Whether the home run suppression follows him further into this stint will be the real test.
Echavarria and Avant Put Up Similar Lines With Very Different Stories
Steven Echavarria (AA, RHP, Rank: 24) and Corey Avant (AA, RHP, Rank: 26) each delivered five-inning, one-run outings at Double-A Midland this week, and both showed their best stuff. Echavarria went five innings, allowing one hit and one run with two walks and eight strikeouts, generating 11 swinging misses on 75 pitches. His 54.7 percent strike rate is well above his season-long 45.2 percent mark, and the 38.9 percent strikeout rate over his last 30 days at Double-A is a dramatic improvement over the 22.1 percent he posted across 93.2 innings at High-A last season. Avant matched him in length: five innings, one hit, one run, five walks, nine strikeouts, 12 swinging misses on 90 pitches. The walk number is the caveat, but his 38.4 percent strikeout rate and 33.1 percent whiff rate over the last 30 days are the best sustained stretches of his 2026 campaign.
The two arms represent different versions of the same general problem: fastball-slider combinations with swing-and-miss but command deficiencies that keep the ERA from reflecting what the raw stuff can do. Echavarria carries a 96-98 mph four-seamer and a firm mid-80s slider, both graded 55, and this week those two pitches were sharp enough to keep Double-A hitters off-balance without needing much from the changeup. His season walk rate at Double-A sits at 7.1 percent, showing real improvement over his High-A numbers. Avant's story is thornier: a 13.2 percent season-long walk rate at Double-A and a projection as a reliever rather than a starter, yet this week he was the harder hitter to face by pure results. His fastball touches 99 mph and the slider flashes plus, and in a shorter burst those two pitches could make him genuinely hard to navigate at higher levels. Both arms have a legitimate shot at up-and-down bullpen roles if the command stays this inconsistent; if Echavarria's walk suppression from Double-A holds, he might be the closer to the rotation projection.
Quick Hits
- Kade Morris (AAA, RHP, Rank: 12) · turned in his best week in some time, going 12.1 innings across multiple appearances with eight strikeouts, three walks, and just two earned runs, generating 17 swinging misses on 162 pitches. That workload and run prevention matter for a pitcher who put up a 10.90 ERA across 17.1 MLB innings this season before being optioned back to Las Vegas in early September. His Triple-A ERA now sits at 4.08 across 97 innings. The last 30 days have been tighter on walks (4.8 percent) than the season as a whole, though the strikeout rate has settled below where it needs to be at 14.3 percent. Morris has a starter's frame and enough secondary variety to keep lineups honest, but the fastball grades at only 45 and the command sits at 40, so the margin for error is thin. Weeks like this one are what a return to Triple-A is supposed to produce.
- Bobby Boser (AA, SS, Rank: 38) · went 4-for-16 with a double, two walks, and a hit by pitch across his seven-day stretch at Double-A Midland. A 40 hit tool and a 36.0 percent season-long strikeout rate at Double-A are real obstacles, but the power (55 grade) has shown up with 11 home runs at this level, and he is drawing walks at an 11.3 percent clip for the second straight season. The last 30 days show a 13.0 percent walk rate alongside a 38.9 percent strikeout rate and a 55.2 percent contact rate, which is a tough combination. His utility path depends on the power playing against better pitching, and this was a week where at least the plate discipline held up.
- Devin Taylor (AAA, OF, Rank: 6) · had a rough seven days at Triple-A Las Vegas: 3-for-21 with one double, one RBI, three walks, and nine strikeouts. The contact rate over his last 30 days at Triple-A is 66.3 percent, down from 70.1 percent across all levels this season, and the strikeout rate has climbed to 36.4 percent at this level compared to 28.6 percent at Double-A. One rough week does not erase the full-season picture: a combined .310/.414/.491 line with 22 home runs and 105 RBI across three levels, and a 55 hit tool with 60-grade power that has played all year. Triple-A pitching is a genuine step up, and some adjustment time is expected. The profile as a potential everyday left fielder still holds.
- Jamie Arnold (AAA, LHP, Rank: 4) · was placed on the seven-day injured list on September 10 with left cheek fractures and a corneal abrasion. It is a painful but non-arm injury, so the concern is more about timeline than anything structural for his pitching future. Before the IL placement, he had thrown 4.1 innings across two appearances at Triple-A with a 2.08 ERA, following a stretch at Double-A where he posted a 3.57 ERA across 113.1 innings with 125 strikeouts. At 21 years old and with a 60-grade fastball and 65-grade slider, Arnold remains one of the more exciting arms in the organization; this is a setback in timing, not trajectory.
- Jackson Finley (AAA, RHP, Rank: 39) · earned his first Triple-A assignment on September 10, promoted from Double-A Midland to Las Vegas. He had a 2.77 ERA across 48.2 innings at Double-A this season with 51 strikeouts. The Triple-A debut was a rocky 3.1 innings with two walks and two earned runs, but the jump from Double-A to Las Vegas is a steep climb in the minors. His 51-inning Double-A sample is the reason for optimism.