Grant Desme caps off impressive fall
Zito ended up on the other side of the Bay in San Francisco while A's General Manager Billy Beane landed another collection of nameless, faceless draft picks.
Now fast forward to the 2007 MLB First Year Player Draft and the compensation picks to see those tight budgeted Athletics suddenly enjoying a return on the investment that came with letting Barry Zito go to a large ticket contract.
Beane selected OF Grant Desme, a soft-spoken outfielder out of Cal State - San Luis Obispo that had scouts on the west coast raving about his 'tools'. Desme could hit, hit for power, field, run and pretty much anything else you could ask. Would the A's have liked Desme to be a bit bigger - of course, but that simply comes with the grooming of Minor League Baseball.
But right around draft day, the first of a handful of physical hurdles caught up with Desme.
Diving for a flyball, Desme would break his wrist just days before maiing his professional debut. A crushing blow to a player that had drive to prove the Oakland Athletics right.
Desme would report to Vancouver and sit. Day after day, week after week, through the first 66 games of the season, Desme would simply watch as names like Corey Brown, Sean Doolittle and Josh Horton would draw the attention of the Oakland brass. Not until game number 67 of the Northwest League season would Desme find Canadians Manager Rick Magnante pencilling him into the starting nine on the road versus the Yakima Bears.
In his first series away from Nat Bailey Stadium, a towering home run and a double that hit off the wall after travelling nearly 380 feet no higher than five feet off the ground.
Translation?
The wrist was fine, and Desme was ready to make a late season charge.
Desme would finish strong for the Canadians who ended up well back of a pennant chase in the NWL West Division.
But the statement had been made, the scouts proven right - Desme was a 'player'.
Over the next season, Desme would find himself battling both Midwest League pitching and the injury bug before looking in the mirror late in 2008 wondering if he would ever be able to play a full season without injury.
That answer and relief came in 2009 when the A's pushed Desme to be better and stronger, more resilient. Desme responded with a season to remember.
Desme crushed the ball out of the gate for Kane County (Midwest-A) hitting .274-11-38 and grabbing the First Half Pennant for the Cougars before getting a mid-season bump to Stockton (California-A).
As a member of the Ports, Desme would continue to hit for both average and power .304-20-51 drawing the attention of the Oakland brass once more. Had Desme finally hit his stride nearly two years after he was taken off the draft board by the A's?
The true test would come with an assignment to the Arizona Fall League, where the 'best of the best' found thier way onto a diamond for a few extra weeks of seasoning.
The 2009 AFL had what many called the best 'crop' of talent in years including Washington Nationals saviour Stephen Strasburg.
Desme would hit well for the first few games then catch lightning in a bottle that grabbed the entire continent by the ear.
The smooth swinging outfielder would hit ten home runs in just ten games. Most of them no doubters that had even the opposition smirking with a combination of envy and respect.
Desme has arrived. Named the Arizona Fall League Most Valuable Player, you cannot deny that fact.
The beauty of the moment comes in the fact that while the world wonders what ever happened to Barry Zito, the A's very softly are enjoying the deal that brought them one of the top prospects in Minor League Baseball.