After several years of tiptoeing around the idea, Oakland Athletics Executive Vice President Billy Beane has finally committed the A’s to a rebuild. Over the next several seasons, the A’s will focus on fielding a young big league roster and adding talent to their minor league system.

The A’s aren’t likely to win a lot over the next year or two, but they hope to emerge from this rebuilding process with a championship-caliber squad filled with young players under team control for several years.

With that in mind, what might the A’s roster look like in five years? Below I take a crack at predicting who will be pulling on the white spikes at gorgeous Clorox Field in 2022.

First, a couple of caveats: Five years is a lifetime in baseball, especially when it comes to player development. Of the A’s current 25-man roster, only recently re-acquired reliever Blake Treinen was even in the A’s organization on Opening Day five years ago. There will be four drafts, many trades and free agent signings between now and 2022, so some of these roster spots will undoubtedly be filled by players not in the organization yet.

Second, for the purposes of this exercise, I didn’t include players who will be 30 or older in 2022, with one notable exception (discussed below). With the A’s focusing on building a young roster with a long window for title contention, I built my roster with players who will just be entering or in the middle of their prime playing years.

Without further adieu, please welcome your 2022 Oakland A’s:

The starting lineup

1B: Matt Olson (will be 28 on Opening Day 2022) has shuttled back-and-forth between triple-A and the big leagues, but he should settle in as the A’s every-day first baseman next year. Olson has big power, an excellent eye and lots of swing-and-miss in his game. He also brings an above-average glove to first base and the versatility to play some right field. Olson won’t hit .300 (or likely even .270), but he will be a threat to hit 30 homers and walk 80 times every season.

2B: Franklin Barreto (will be 26 in 2022) received a brief look with the A’s earlier this year and should be back in September (if not sooner). A shortstop for much of his career, Barreto could still end up there, but he is more likely to become the A’s every-day second baseman starting next season. Barreto is an outstanding athlete who has a chance to be an asset defensively at second base.

It is his bat that will carry him, however. Barreto has lightning fast wrists, above-average hand-eye coordination and more power than most middle infielders. He can also run. Barreto’s plate discipline still needs work, but if that improves, he’s a perennial All-Star.

SS: Jorge Mateo (will be 27) takes over the mantle as the A’s shortstop of the future after being acquired at the deadline from the Yankees. One of the fastest runners in baseball, Mateo also has power and a chance to hit for average if he can be more disciplined at the plate. He has the arm strength, athleticism and natural actions to stay at short. Whether he develops the consistency to be an everyday shortstop remains to be seen. If he can’t stick at short, he should find a home in center.

3B: Matt Chapman (will be 28) has already shown why the A’s believe he can anchor the hot corner into the future in his brief time in the big leagues. Chapman is among the top-three MLB third basemen in runs saved, according to Baseball-Reference.com, and that’s in less than 40 games played. Chapman’s throwing arm is as close to an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale as a player can get and he projects to be an elite defender. While he won’t hit for average, Chapman should be good for 20+ homers a year.

C: Sean Murphy (will be 27) / Santis Sanchez (will be 23) — Murphy has Chapman-esque qualities with the glove. The A’s 2016 third-round pick has a 70-grade arm and above-average athleticism behind the plate. At the plate, he still has some holes in his swing, but he has power potential and a good sense of the strike-zone. Already in double-A, Murphy could be pushing for a big-league spot as soon as late next season.

Sanchez’s inclusion here is a reflection of the A’s lack of young, high-ceiling minor league catching depth. The A’s 2017 fifth-round pick out of Puerto Rico is very raw but has intriguing catch-and-throw tools and power potential at the plate. He will likely take all of the next five years to reach the big leagues, if he gets there.

DH: Renato Núñez (will be 28) still hasn’t received a big league call-up this season, but he remains one of the organization’s most promising hitters. He has quick wrists and plus power to all fields. His pitch recognition needs improvement, but he has the swing to hit for average if he doesn’t get too pull happy. Defensively, Nunez can play third, first and left field, but his glove isn’t a strength. Nunez will be out of options next season, so he should get significant playing time this September and stick with the A’s next spring.

LF: Lazaro Armenderos (will be 22) — aka “Lazarito” – signed with the A’s in July 2016 out of Cuba. The 18-year-old has the build of an NFL wide receiver and plenty of power and speed to dream on. He is raw and at least four years from the big leagues, but if everything comes together, Lazarito is a future middle-of-the-order threat with the ability to track down a lot of baseballs in left field.

CF: Austin Beck (will be 23), the A’s top pick in 2017, is the organization’s tools-iest prospect. Beck put on a show at a pre-draft workout at the Coliseum, launching homeruns into Mark McGwire territory and wowing with his throws from the outfield. He also has above-average speed. Beck is going through growing pains right now in Rookie ball, but once he catches up to the speed of the game, his raw talent should start translating in the boxscore. Like Lazarito, Beck’s earliest ETA to the big leagues is 2021.

RF: Dustin Fowler (will be 27) joined the A’s at the deadline and is currently rehabbing a knee injury he suffered with the Yankees in his big league debut on June 29. The A’s expect Fowler to be ready for spring training and there is a good chance he will make Oakland’s 2018 Opening Day roster. Fowler has good speed, excellent bat control and developing power. He likely begins his career as the A’s centerfielder but he will move to right when Beck arrives in the big leagues.

Matt Chapman #47 and David Forst talk on the field prior to a game against the Giants at Hohokam Stadium in February in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)

The bench

This bench gives the A’s a little bit of everything: versatile defenders, hitters with power, potential pinch-hitters, plus runners … and even an excellent bunter.

The versatile Yairo Muñoz (will be 27) could usurp several players in my projected 2022 starting line-up, but even if he doesn’t crack the starting line-up, he figures to be a valuable bench asset with his ability to play all over the field and his speed/power tool-set. He’s an underrated athlete with a 65-grade throwing arm.

Nick Allen (will be 23), the A’s 2017 third-round pick, draws comparisons to former A’s infielder Mike Gallego for his stature (listed at 5-foot-8, 155 pounds – and that might be generous) and his defense. Allen also has above-average speed and a feel for the barrel that should allow him to hit for average.

Max Schrock (will be 27) is arguably the top contact hitter in the A’s system and he has the skill-set to be a valuable pinch-hitter. His defense at second base is solid. The A’s haven’t tried him anywhere else on the diamond, but he could see time at third and in left eventually.

Luis Barrera (will be 26) is emerging as a legitimate five-tool outfield prospect. He has a picturesque swing that is starting to generate power and excellent bat control. He is also one of the top bunters in the A’s system, for whatever that is worth.

The starting rotation

Sean Manaea, LHP (will be 30) is the only Opening Day 2020 30-year-old on this list, and that is for a reason. The left-hander has the stuff, build and personality to be the leader of the A’s pitching staff for many years. It’s always hard to project who will be with the A’s past their initial six years of team control, but Manaea is my bet to be that guy.

A.J. Puk, LHP (will be 26), the A’s top pick in 2016, is a 6’7’’ southpaw with a fastball that has hit 100 mph a few times this year and sits in the mid-90s. He also has a devastating slider and a change-up and curveball that both have the potential to be major-league average or better. Puk’s command still needs work, but he could reach the big leagues by the end of next year.

James Kaprielian, RHP (will 28) joined the A’s in the Sonny Gray trade and is almost five months removed from Tommy John surgery. When healthy, Kaprielian has a nasty four-pitch mix that includes a mid-90s fastball, as well as a slider, change-up and curveball. He is a groundball pitcher who also gets plenty of swing-and-miss.

Grant Holmes, RHP (will be 26) has been the youngest pitcher in the Texas League for most of this season and he has held his own. He gets plenty of movement on his two-seam fastball and can run his four-seam up to 96 m.p.h. His power change-up is a swing-and-miss pitch. Holmes has improved his location significantly as the season has progressed. He could challenge for a rotation spot in the spring of 2019.

Jesus Luzardo, LHP (will be 24) joined the A’s in the Sean Doolittle/Ryan Madson deal. Luzardo had Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2016 and is working his way back in the Arizona Rookie League. He has impressed in limited innings so far, flashing a fastball that sits 92-95 m.p.h. and a sharp curveball.

One starter I will probably regret leaving out of my 2022 rotation is Logan Shore (will be 27). Shore doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as the others mentioned, but his stuff, build and pitchability all point to a long MLB career.

A.J. Puk #79 pitches during a workout at Fitch Park in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)

The bullpen

Bullpens are by far the most difficult part of a team to project even two years down the road, let alone five.

Most big-league relievers start out as minor league starters. Dakota Chalmers (will be 25), Abdiel Mendoza (will be 23), Heath Fillmyer (will be 27) and Daulton Jefferies (will be 26) are currently being developed as starters, and all four could make the big leagues as starters. But I will slot them for my bullpen because all four have above-average fastballs and at least one potentially above-average secondary pitch. Nolan Blackwood (will be 27) and Wandisson Charles (will be 25) are the only two projected members currently being used as relievers. Blackwood is a sidearmer who can touch 93 mph and Charles is a 6-7 behemoth who can hit triple-digits.

The biggest takeaway from this bullpen composition is the lack of left-handers. I do have three lefties in my projected starting rotation, but there is a decided drop-off in high-ceiling left-handed pitching talent in the A’s system after those three. I suspect that will be an area that is addressed well before 2022.