Henry Bolte will lead them into battle when their season starts April 5th
After Triple-A opened play last Friday now it’s time for the lower levels to start up their seasons, and Lansing is getting the ball rolling on roster releases as they dropped theirs Tuesday ahead of their Crosstown Showdown exhibition against Michigan State on Wednesday. On Friday they will start their regular season schedule as they head to Dayton to face off against the Dragons of the Reds organization.
Lansing will be the weakest of the Oakland Athletics affiliates on opening day, featuring just two of Oakland’s top 30 prospects. Far and away the best among them is Henry Bolte, the electrifying outfielder who possesses some of the best raw talent in Oakland’s system. Drafted in the second round in 2022 the now 20 year old Bolte is coming off of a solid season in Stockton where he put up a 113 wRC+ and 14 home runs, though he will be looking to cut back on his strikeouts as he advances. Also joining him in that outfield will be Brayan Buelvas, who sits outside of MLB Pipeline’s top 30 prospects but was one of Oakland’s top international signees in 2018 and is still just 21 years old. Buelvas had a career-best year with a 142 wRC+ in 54 games across two stints with Stockton last year, but struggled between Lansing and Midland and put up an abysmal .454 OPS in High-A. He will look to continue his improvements with the bat to reclaim his former prospect status.
The Lansing infield features their only other MLB top 30 prospect — first baseman Will Simpson. Simpson played in 36 games last year after being a 15th round pick, and he excelled with a .910 OPS between rookie ball and Single-A. Simpson is a big player with raw power to match, but will have to hit well in order to crack the major leagues as he is likely limited to a first base/designated hitter role. Euribiel Angeles will be taking his fourth trip to the Midwest League and his third as an A’s prospect since being acquired in the Sean Manaea trade in 2022. Angeles reach High-A as a 19 year old due to his ability to make consistent contact, but has stalled out at the level due to a lack of power development and a low walk rate limiting his offensive production. Angeles struck out only 13.5% of the time in 2023, but also only drew walks in 2.7% of plate appearances leaving him with a career-worst .293 on base percentage.
Lansing’s pitching staff features no top 30 prospects. 23 year old southpaw James Gonzalez comes into Lansing after a solid season across two levels in 2023, during which he led all Oakland minor leaguers with 135 strikeouts and finished off with a 2.18 ERA across four starts for the Lugnuts. Eduardo Rivera will be the baby of the staff, as the 20 year old left hander will be starting his fourth professional season since being an 11th round pick in 2021. The 6’7 Rivera has struggled with command throughout his young career, but has been able to miss bats at a high rate. Lansing’s release can be found here, and the full roster here.
