SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Davis Diaz has spent his pro career learning on the fly, and the A’s are still asking him to keep adding layers.
Drafted in the eighth round in 2024 out of Vanderbilt, Diaz came into the organization with an infield background and almost no catching experience. Oakland announced him as a catcher anyway, despite the fact that he had barely worn the gear before turning pro.
“I think I had probably five innings of high school experience before that,” Diaz said with a laugh.
The A’s scouting director Eric Kubota had seen Diaz catch in 2021, and that moment ended up mattering three years later. Diaz, though, didn’t treat the position switch like a detour. He leaned into it.
“Honestly, I was excited,” Diaz said. “Any opportunity I could get.
In general, just being drafted was a huge opportunity. And when they brought up catching, honestly, the first emotion was excitement, just being able to learn a new position.
Each day at the ballpark, I felt like I had an opportunity to learn something new.”
That learning curve is still front and center in the Arizona Fall League, where Diaz is part of the Mesa Solar Sox and remains one of the organization’s key developmental projects. The A’s No. 19 prospect has caught 128 professional games overall, including 47 during a 2026 season that got him to Triple-A for the first time. He also logged plenty of innings at third base, with additional time at second and first.
Behind the plate, Diaz says the assignment is simple in theory and demanding in practice.
“I think the easiest thing was them saying to stay athletic back there,” Diaz said. “I like to pretend I'm an infielder just behind the plate. I think the hardest thing is just kind of learning each pitcher, understanding how they throw, what their strengths are, using it against different hitters and game plan and all that.”
Offensively, 2026 brought the kind of jump that gets attention. Diaz has long shown solid bat-to-ball ability, backed by a career 15.4 percent strikeout rate, but the power had not shown up in a big way.
That changed this year, when he hit double-digit home runs for the first time and blew past his previous totals in extra-base hits and slugging percentage from his first full pro season. His explanation was as straightforward as it gets.
“It might sound crazy, but honestly just not even trying,” Diaz said. “I think when I got myself in trouble was when I started to try and produce more power.
I went back to last year, I found myself in that hole a lot trying to do way too much and I told myself this offseason, ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ I'm just not going to try and do it.
And you know, funny how things work out in baseball like that.”
The season still had its rough patches. Diaz missed a month after a hit by pitch led to a concussion and a facial fracture.
His 21-game stint in Triple-A was also a struggle, as he posted a .595 OPS in 74 at-bats. Even so, he views that stretch as part of the education.
“I think failing is real important,” Diaz said. “I feel like that's the only way you can really learn and make adjustments.
Just seeing the guys around there, a lot of them had big league service time, so just watching how they go about their business. If they're struggling a little bit, just watch how they handle it and just learn as much as I can from them.
Just be a sponge.”
Diaz isn’t the only A’s player getting a Fall League look.
Breyson Guedez, the club’s No. 9 prospect, was one of the organization’s bigger international signings in 2025, landing with a bonus of close to $1.5 million. After a solid Dominican Summer League debut, the 19-year-old skipped straight to full-season ball in 2026 and hit .309/.353/.460 with Stockton before moving up to High-A Lansing. His next step is sharpening his plate approach.
Cole Conn, ranked No. 21, is a slightly undersized but athletic switch-hitting catcher who also saw time in the outfield. A former three-sport high school standout, he moved from Double-A to Triple-A in 2026 and posted an .852 combined OPS while adding more impact and swiping 28 bases. His receiving still needs work, but his arm stands out, and he threw out 32.7 percent of runners this year.
On the pitching side, Kenya Huggins, the A’s No. 23 prospect, arrived through the 2025 trade that sent Miguel Andujar to the Reds. The right-hander was originally a fourth-round pick by Cincinnati in 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery in June of his first full year.
After returning near the end of 2024 and spending 2025 in Single-A Daytona, he reached Double-A in 2026. He was uneven there, though he was more effective after moving to relief, where his mid-90s fastball and upper-80s slider can play up.
Jay Dill, a 2025 18th-round pick out of Troy University, also made his way to the AFL after opening his first full pro season with Stockton and then spending much of the year in Double-A Midland. He generated swings and misses with his fastball-slider mix, posting a 30 percent miss rate in 2026 and striking out 10.7 per nine, but his command remains a work in progress with a career 5.6 BB/9.
Jared Johnson’s path has been even longer. The Braves took him in the 14th round in 2019 and paid around $260,000 to sign him.
He once ranked among Atlanta’s Top 30 prospects, but Tommy John surgery wiped out 2022, he was traded to the A’s for Nick Allen after the 2024 season, and more elbow trouble kept him out for all of 2025. He did return to pitch at the upper levels in 2026.
Tucker Novotny rounds out the group. The 18th-round pick out of Minnesota in 2024 spent most of his second full pro season in Lansing’s bullpen.
The 6-foot-5 lefty sits in the low 90s, gets swings and misses with the fastball, and pairs it with a slider and changeup. He could profile as a left-handed specialist, given his .186 batting average against lefties, though he also turned in strong results in seven starts with a 2.97 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .198 BAA.
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