A's rebuilding project on a fast track

STOCKTON -- When the A's traded away Dan Haren and Nick Swisher last winter, the idea was to rebuild an organization slim on young talent.

While the rebuilding has gone a little quicker than expected in the majors, the other half of the story is developing -- literally -- an hour east of Oakland. That's where the A's Class-A Stockton affiliate has been tearing up the California League with a rare concentration of talent.

The Ports began the season with four of the A's top six pitching prospects in their rotation: Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Fautino De Los Santos and Henry Rodriguez. The lineup is built around two of the organization's best hitting prospects: Chris Carter and Sean Doolittle.

Half of those players -- Anderson, De Los Santos and Carter -- came in the big offseason trades.

"It's certainly not something I can remember us having in this system," Forst said. "When we started (the season) we had a top prospect pitching every night. That's unusual . . . It's a lot of fun to watch the box scores develop each night."

The result is that Stockton is off to one of the best starts in all of minor league baseball. The Ports were 24-9 through Wednesday.

"It's a lot of fun to watch the way these guys go about their business," Stockton manager Darren Bush said. "They are working to get better every day . . . They push each other every day to get better."

Pitching coach Garvin Alston said it is "a dream" to have pitchers "who will pitch in the big leagues, for sure." Half of that vaunted foursome is now gone, though.

Rodriguez was already promoted to Double A, and De Los Santos is taking a break for at least a couple of weeks to rest a sore elbow. Forst said the A's don't believe there is anything serious wrong with De Los Santos, who was one of the White Sox's top pitching prospects when the A's got him in the Swisher deal.

The pitchers left still give Alston plenty to be excited about.

Cahill, a 20-year-old from San Diego, was the A's top pitching prospect before the influx of talent from the trades. His stock rose when he dominated in the second half last season at low-A Kane County, and he has picked up where he left off this year at Stockton.

Cahill is 4-0 with a 2.25 earned-run average. In 36 innings, he has allowed 22 hits, struck out 48 and walked just seven.

Anderson, 20, was 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA prior to Thursday night's start. He had 36 strikeouts and seven walks in 33 innings.

Both pitchers have the classic starting pitcher's repertoire: fastball, curveball, changeup, slider.

What has most impressed Alston, though, is what they do on the days they aren't pitching. He said both pitchers are intelligent students of the game, who study charts and frequently pop into his office to talk about their craft.

Cahill, who had planned to go to Dartmouth before the A's drafted him, said: "We're out there keeping the charts for a reason. You are always trying to out-think the hitters. It's like a chess game."

Cahill and Anderson have also become close friends, with lockers next to one another in the Stockton clubhouse.

They dish out friendly jabs in the clubhouse and challenge each other on the mound.

"Every start we go out to improve on what the other did," Cahill said.

Anderson recently struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings, and the next night Cahill took a no-hitter into the sixth.

The team's offensive stars are Doolittle, the A's second-round pick in the 2007 draft, and Carter, who came from Arizona in the Haren deal. Carter was leading the league with 10 homers. Doolittle was hitting .347 with eight homers and 28 RBIs. They have split time at first base and designated hitter.

Carter "has obviously got a ton of potential," Bush said. "He's got a lot of raw power. I think he's going to be a complete hitter. He uses the whole field . . . He's hit home runs to every part of the ballpark here so far."

Doolittle, a college player, is more refined that Carter, with his swing and defensively.

Because three of the Big Four prospects at Stockton were high school draft picks, none is likely to be in the big leagues before late 2009, or more likely 2010.

"We're committed to taking it step-by-step with these guys," Forst said of the pitchers. "But it's realistic they could be in Double A sometime in the next few months. Remember, these are just 20-year-old kids."

You can reach Staff Writer Jeff Fletcher at 521-5489 or jeff.fletcher@pressdemocrat.com.