Athletics outfield prospect Colby Thomas likes to play the outfield like he’s playing another sport.

“The plays that you’re just full sprint and you fully extend and grab one,” Thomas said in a recent interview on The Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast. “I feel like those are really cool. I feel like a receiver in football, like I’m going to get it, and it looks like I’m reeling it in going for a touchdown.”

Thomas made a bunch of catches like that this season in the corner outfield spots for the Midland RockHounds of the Texas League and the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League. He made some impressive throws too.

SIS tracks Defensive Runs Saved for minor league players and teams in addition to tracking the stat for the major leagues. Thomas, the A’s No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline, led all left fielders with 13 Runs Saved in 2024. He also had 2 Runs Saved in a shorter stint in right field.

Thomas had 7 Runs Saved in left field thanks to his outfield arm. That and his 8 assists that didn’t need the help of a cutoff man matched the most of any minor league left fielder.

“I wouldn’t say I have a cannon for an arm,” Thomas said. “I’d like to think I’m more accurate. I had labrum surgery on my throwing arm that ended my junior year of college. Coming back from that, I didn’t really know if it’s gonna be a plus arm. I had the same manager in Low-A and Double-A and we threw to bases a lot. I think that started to get it more accurate and you also build up the arm strength.”

Thomas had 31 home runs and 44 doubles split between the two minor league levels and his bat-glove combination makes him a legit candidate to play for the Athletics next season.

Thomas isn’t the only prime prospect who had a strong defensive year. Here are two others:

Carson Williams, Rays shortstop

The 21-year-old Williams is the No. 4 prospect in all of baseball and he looks close to major league ready defensively. He had 6 Runs Saved at shortstop in 2024 for the Montgomery Biscuits of the Double-A Southern League. Only one minor leaguer had more Runs Saved there (28-year-old Jackson Cluff had 9).

The minor league baseball world is already familiar with Williams’ defensive excellence. He won a minor league Gold Glove at shortstop in 2022.

Enrique Bradfield Jr., Orioles outfielder

Bradfield, the Orioles’ No. 4 prospect, had 7 Runs Saved in 106 games in the outfield for the High-A Aberdeen Ironbirds of the South Atlantic League, and the Bowie Baysox of the Eastern League, all of those Runs Saved coming in center field.

Bradfield’s strengths were chasing down the shallow fly ball and also his throwing arm. Only 17 of 53 baserunners took an extra base against him as a center fielder, a 32% advance rate. An average minor league advance rate is typically in the low 50s, so Bradfield fared far better than average in that area.