PHOENIX - Drew Burress spent part of Tuesday in a familiar kind of baseball conversation, except the setting was anything but ordinary. He was sitting in the Athletics’ clubhouse next to Tommy White, with Gage Jump locker-side to his right and Nick Kurtz on the other side.
Two years ago, all four were in college baseball. Now White, Jump and Kurtz are in the majors, and Burress, the A’s eighth overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, is trying to follow that same path.
Burress was in Arizona this week to sign his professional contract at the club’s Spring Training complex in Mesa, and the trip brought him to Chase Field for batting practice before Tuesday’s game against the D-backs. For the 21-year-old outfielder, the moment carried the kind of weight he has imagined for years.
“Any time you get to take BP in a big league park, it’s pretty cool,” Burress said. “It’s definitely a little cooler when you get to take it with the big league players, too. That was a cool experience, just to get out here and hang out with some of the guys.”
He also had lunch earlier in the day with A’s general manager David Forst and area scout Jemel Spearman, who scouted him. Burress was joined by his parents, and he said having them there made the whole thing hit even harder.
“It’s honestly been so surreal,” Burress said. “It’s been a dream of mine for so long.
You think about it and plan it out for such a long time, and when it finally comes true, it almost doesn’t feel real. It still feels like it’s part of the dream you’ve been dreaming.
To have my family out here is awesome. They’ve been such a big part of me being the player and person I am today.”
Burress arrives with a reputation that matches the billing. He was widely viewed as the best pure college hitter in this year’s Draft, and he backed that up at Georgia Tech with big-time 60-grade power and a school-record 60 home runs across three seasons. Still, some evaluators wondered whether his listed frame - 5-foot-9, 185 pounds - would limit how much of that power would carry with a wood bat.
Burress has heard the size talk before, and he isn’t interested in letting it define him.
“That’s always been something that’s been talked about for me,” Burress said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s about winning and producing.
Those are two things that I’ve always done. Regardless of the height -- it doesn’t matter if it’s Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve or anybody in between -- if you can produce and you can win, that’s what it’s all about.
That’s what it’s always been about for me.”
There’s no official word yet on where Burress will open his pro career, though he said he expects to land at either Single-A Stockton or High-A Lansing in the coming month. For now, he’s simply eager to get in a game.
“I’m ready to play,” Burress said. “I’ve been training and preparing to play between the college season and now, so I feel like I’m ready to go out and get in a game.”
In Other News...
As Suddenly Have A Scary New Injury Concern With Kuroda-Grauer
Kuroda-Grauers rapid start has been one of the more encouraging developments for the Athletics since his MLB debut, which is why his latest trip through a game against the D-backs drew immediate attention. The rookie has been performing well enough to put himself firmly on the radar, and the As have had plenty of reason to keep watching how his bat and glove translate as he settles into the majors.
The concern arrived after he fouled a ball off his groin during the game, then stayed in briefly before being replaced on defense in the sixth inning. Oakland announced the injury afterward, and while the club has not yet offered a longer-term update, any pause for a player who has been producing this well is enough to make his status worth monitoring closely. [Read more 🡒]
As Forced Into Another Painful Roster Shakeup After Brutal Injury Night
The Athletics were forced into another roster shuffle after a rough stretch on the injury front, placing right-hander Mark Leiter on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 19 with a right hip impingement and sending infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer to the 10-day injured list. To help cover the openings, Oakland recalled right-hander Hayden Juenger from Triple-A Las Vegas and brought back infielder Max Muncy, who had been optioned earlier this month.
For an As club already trying to piece together innings and infield depth, the timing is especially unwelcome. Juenger gives Oakland another fresh arm after arriving in a trade, while Muncy returns for a second stint with the big-league club, but the larger concern is how quickly the roster keeps changing around injuries that have already forced the team to keep adjusting on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Another A's IL Move Leaves This Thin Roster In A Tough Spot
The Athletics roster took another hit this week when right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. landed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to July 19 with a right hip impingement, while infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer also went on the 10-day IL after surgery. For a club already working with little margin for error, the timing only sharpens the strain on the depth chart and forces the front office to keep shuffling pieces just to cover innings and infield reps.
Hayden Juenger and Max Muncy were brought back up in the corresponding moves, giving Oakland a couple of fresh options as it tries to patch things together. Leiters absence is especially frustrating because the hip issue has now surfaced again this season, and with the trade deadline approaching, every missed outing matters for a pitcher whose value was already under pressure. [Read more 🡒]