Vancouver one of a handful of stops on Oakland ladder

(Nat Bailey Stadium - Vancouver, BC) - Fans of the Vancouver Canadians may not realize just how good they have it to be a Minor League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Certainly it is hard for the best local baseball pundits to project which player will find his way through the A's Minor League system and reach the bright lights of the Major Leagues, but the A's track record sure makes it fun to guess.

2007 was a strong year for the Oakland Athletics on Draft Day managing to lock up University of Virginia blue chipper Sean Doolittle who has rocketted through the A's Minor League system and is on the verge of finding his way onto the A's roster. Hitting above .300 for the better part of the Pacific Coast League season in Sacramento, Doolittle has shown that he has power, solid contact and a decent glove. More than enough to eventually break into the 'bigs' with time to spare.

Corey Brown was also taken in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft and has also shown aside from a few nagging injuries to be a future Oakland Athletic. Currently in Midland with the A's Double-A Affiliate in the Texas League, Brown is making the most of his time with the RockHounds hitting (.283-0-12).

Oakland's Minor League arms are perhaps a little bit thin as a handful of prospects that might be better served with a little more seasoning in Sacramento, have found their way to Oakland as the combination of injury and budget have catapulted the young A's 'arms in waiting' into 'the arms of today'.

Quick development isn't just an Oakland trait, but when you see Rich Harden go from Class-A Short-Season baseball in 2001 to the Oakland Coliseum in 2003, you can see General Manager Billy Beane believes if the player projects, and fits into the numbers of his 'Moneyball' philsophy, that perhaps time and age is just a number.

Harden's frequent injuries over the course of his final four seasons with the A's before he was dealt to Chicago (NL)could be attributed to the way he was thrust through the A's system, but others like Joe Blanton (Philadelphia) who also got the 'rush job' can debate that theory.

Anyway you slice it, the Oakland Athletics are looking for talent, and chances are before they step into the field at McAfee Coliseum, they'll be stepping on the field here at Nat Bailey Stadium.