The Oakland Athletics did not have a second round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft due to the signing of Grant Balfour. The third round has now rolled around and the A's have selected third baseman B.A. Vollmuth out of Southern Mississippi. Vollmuth has played a lot of time at shortstop but the general belief is that he'll move over to third base at the next level.
Keith Law put together a scouting report on Vollmuth and looks at him as a guy with solid strength to make line-drive contact, but struggles with plate discipline. if he's going to become an every day player at the next level he'll need to shorten up his swing and get a better handle on the strike zone. If he can do that he could become a solid big league third baseman.
The A's third base position has been a bit of a black hole since Eric Chavez went in the tank in recent years. If Vollmuth turns out to be a solid option, the A's could eventually work out a Grant Green, B.A. Vollmuth shortstop/third base combination. That's still a long ways off, but I'd have to imagine the A's are looking at that long term, with Jemile Weeks securing the second base position.
We'll be here for the next three days covering the 2011 MLB Draft. For more in-depth discussion about the Oakland A's head to Athletics Nation. For more general minor league and draft discussion, check out Minor League Ball and Baseball Nation.