The Athletics have spent the last few seasons watching young players jump from prospect status to real big-league impact, and that pipeline could deliver again in 2027.
That’s the kind of backdrop that makes Devin Taylor and Max Muncy’s John Kuroda-Grauer, better known as JKG, worth watching. Neither sits inside MLB’s top 100 prospects, but both have shown enough to hint at a bigger role ahead.
Taylor’s rise has been fast. Heading into 2026, he had only seen Low-A pitching after being drafted that summer, and this year became his first full professional season.
He opened in High-A and hit .861 OPS in 202 at-bats before moving up to Double-A Midland. He spent most of the year there, then got another bump to Triple-A, where he wrapped up with 61 at-bats and a .295 average.
The production is only part of the appeal. Taylor brings loud tools, with elite 60-grade power and a 55-grade hit tool. The left-handed hitter is expected to begin next season in Triple-A, and if the lockout doesn’t push things back, he could be in position for an early-season debut.
JKG has already gotten a brief taste of the majors. The league saw him make his anticipated MLB debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his game still looks very much like the one that made Jacob Wilson such a fast mover: contact first, steady defense, and not much wasted motion.
He backed up that profile with a .366 batting average and an .899 OPS in 71 at-bats this season, which keeps his prospect eligibility intact. That gives him a real shot to crack the Opening Day roster, and a legitimate chance to be a strong hitter for the A’s.
The organization has already seen this story play out. In 2025, Nick Kurtz finished as the runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year, while Jacob Wilson won it. Both were central to the club’s strong second half, and Wilson even landed a long-term contract extension afterward.
Then in 2026, Henry Bolte emerged as one of the sport’s most electric young players, flashing power, speed and defense in a way that caught the whole league’s attention.
Taylor and JKG are next in line to try to do the same.
In Other News...
Athletics Face A Telling 2027 Choice At Second Base
The Athletics are already looking ahead to 2027 at second base, and the position could turn into one of the more revealing decisions on their roster. Jeff McNeil is part of the conversation for now, but the longer-term picture points toward a younger internal solution, with Alika Williams, Donovan Walton and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer all in the mix as the front office weighs offense, defense and development.
Kuroda-Grauer is the name that stands out most in that group because of the way the organization seems to view his upside, even though his season was interrupted by injury. Williams and Walton offer more established depth and different defensive profiles, but the Athletics appear inclined to keep giving runway to a player who could become more than just a placeholder if he keeps progressing. [Read more 🡒]