Denzel

Clarke

Clarke would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft if the Athletics didn’t add him before Tuesday’s deadline. The 24-year-old forged a .784 OPS over 431 at-bats in 2024 and has a good chance to help the A’s in 2025.

It was the first game of the AFL, and Clarke made an immediate impression. The 24-year-old scored the only run of the game in a 1-0 victory for the Solar Sox. A fourth-round pick by the Athletics in 2021, Clarke had a so-so 2024 year with a .784 OPS over 431 at-bats, but he did still 36 bases and puts up plus run times. No other tool projects more than average, but Clarke has a chance to be a starting outfielder — and potentially one with a bit of fantasy upside — since there’s no real weakness in his game, either; outside of the swing-and-miss that most young hitters suffer from.

Clarke also scored a run and drove in one himself. The 21-year-old has been outstanding for the Ports thus far, as the three-hit night has him slashing .324/.405/.581 with four homers and nine stolen bases in just 18 games. A fourth-round pick by Oakland over the summer, Clarke is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound outfielder who is just tapping into his athleticism, and starting to apply it on the baseball field. He’s a plus runner -- possibly a tick above -- and there’s above-average power in his right-handed bat as well. He has shown more feel for hitting than anticipated, but his long levers will likely lead to swing-and-miss issues as he advances. Clarke has a while to go, but when all is said and done, he could be a 25/25 player with a passable average. You can do a lot worse.