The 2011 MLB Rule V Draft is being held on Thursday - the A's have the 11th pick but some teams ahead of them such as the Pirates, Royals and Marlins seem to have full 40 man rosters so if it stays like this then the A's could pick 8th. Everyone knows all about the big success stories such as Josh Hamilton, Johan Santana and Dan Uggla, but the truth is it is very unlikely you will be able to unearth an All Star through the Rule V these days, especially since the eligibility was tightened in 2006 to four or five years of minor league experience depending on how old the player was when signed.

More likely teams will be looking to add a role player or an extra arm in the pen but some teams will still target raw prospects with potential in the hope of catching lightning in a bottle. This year there are a few names that will be familiar to a lot of you including former Giants 1st round pick and BA top 50 prospect Tim Alderson and Ethan Martin the Dodgers 2008 1st round pick who has struggled with his command since being drafted. Of the available A's minor leaguers Travis Banwart and Shane Peterson maybe most at risk of being drafted. The A's haven't had the best record with their Rule V picks to put it kindly but we have one spot free on their 40 man roster as long as no more signings are announced between now and Thursday so here are five players that I think we may target.

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During a quiet afternoon at work I was glancing through Baseball Reference and noticed a couple of amazing seasons by former Athletics. We have had a number of recent historically focused posts, including barryzitoforever's superb three part series on the 1929 Athletics, dwishinsky's great piece on Catfish Hunter and 69MARQUEZ's countless wonderful pieces on the teams of days gone by. Inspired by these I have put together this piece on the top 10 single season performances in the franchise's history.

I know it has its faults but I have used Baseball Reference's WAR for no other reason than I am a little lazy and it was the easiest to research by using their website. My research was basically confined to Baseball Reference, Wikipedia and a couple of articles I found on the net, however I would recommend anyone with even a passing interest in the franchise's history to go to the Philadelphia Athletics website and read some of the fascinating articles they have many of the old-time players and teams. I have only counted a player's best season in an Athletics uniform so if Barry Bonds or Babe Ruth had worn Green and Gold they would only appear on this list once.

Jose Canseco's 40/40 season in 1988 (7.6 WAR) falls somewhat short but will always have a special place in my heart. As an eight year old boy I enjoyed baseball, wore my A's cap and followed the team but I don't think I ever really loved them until that year and Canseco's season was the major reason for that. That is why when asked these days who my favourite all time A is, I am able to look past the steroid controversies and the realisation as I grew up that he is a bit of jerk and see him through my eight year old eyes as the player who really started me on this lifelong love of baseball and the Oakland A's, and say Jose Canseco.

It is no great surprise that the list is dominated by players from the numerous dynasties this franchise has enjoyed, from the early Philadelphia teams to the side that won three straight Championships in the early seventies, although there are one or two surprises you might not have been expecting. Now without further ado - here are the top 10 seasons in Athletics history by WAR. Sods law is that I have overlooked someone but I have no doubt that someone will be kind enough to point it out if I have!

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In a move that will probably come as no surprise the A's have traded Jake Fox to the Orioles for minor league reliever Ross Wolf. Wolf is 27 and has an unimpressive minor league career but I suppose anything is better than nothing. At least it brings to an end the whole Jake Fox saga but Jeff Gray, Ronnie Morla and Matt Spencer along with $4m for Ross Wolf is not the best looking sequence. I suppose a wolf is stronger and harder than a fox so there is some consolation.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37849516/ns/sports-player_news/

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=wolf--001ros