In the winter before the 2012 season, the Oakland A's acquired Raul Alcantara in the trade that netted Josh Reddick for All-Star closer Andrew Bailey. Alcantara was a high-ceiling pitching prospect at the time, and he ranked toward the top of our Community Prospect List for a while. However, Tommy John surgery interrupted his progress and tanked his prospect value, and he's spent the last couple years working his way slowly through the minors. Entering 2016, the right-hander ranked only No. 14 on our CPL in an overall good-not-great farm system.
Despite his relative struggles, the A's keep moving him up for bigger tests.