Oakland A's: 5 Prospects to Make A's Fans Forget About Gio Gonzalez

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It's not exactly the same as before, but the losses of starting pitchers Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez has to have A's fans shaking their heads. When Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and eventually Barry Zito moved on, it sent a message on how things are done in Oakland.

Billy Beane will squeeze every last drop of talent out of a player and get them to reach their full potential. 

Once this happens though, other teams start to notice and Beane is forced to sell, and he starts the process all over again.

Following is a list of prospects that eventually might have fans asking, "Gio who?" You never know, Beane knows talent and he's done it before.

Jarrod Parker

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Baseball Newshound.com compares Jarrod Parker to Rich Harden and Tim Hudson. The hard throwing right-handed pitcher was acquired in the Trevor Cahill trade.

Parker was the ninth pick in the 2007 MLB Amateur June Draft.  He has a nice fastball with a filthy slider and has developed a changeup to go along with his two money pitches.

Parker's durability may be a question mark, as he has already had Tommy John Surgery.

Brad Peacock

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Brad Peacock was acquired in the Gio Gonzalez trade. Although Peacock was not a high draft pick like Parker (41st round, 2006), the A's are hoping he can eventually fill the No. 2 or No. 3 spot for the club.

Peacock does have command issues, but he has a huge upside that could help the A's in the future.

Sonny Gray

Sonny Gray is another guy that can help with the two or three spot in the rotation.

He's a young pup that the A's took with their first pick in the 2011 draft. 

 A good solid fastball and curveball make this right-handed pitcher someone to look forward to.

Michael Choice

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I know he's not a pitcher, but just in case you forgot, the A's need bats and this guy could be the slugger of the future for the A's.

In 2011 Choice hit 30 home runs in Stockton with a .285 batting average.

The A's did keep Coco Crisp, but this kid is the future in center field for the A's.

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Ian Krol

Ian Krol is a long shot with a history of elbow problems and acting a fool.

Krol served a suspension for an anti-gay tweet, and coupled with an elbow injury, he missed most of the 2011 season.

He is a lefty, and every team needs lefties. You really don't know with this guy, but Billy Beane sees something in this kid.