From Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports comes word that A’s shortstop prospect Addison Russell has been diagnosed with a Grade 3 hamstring strain — it’s a tear, really — and will be out at least a month.
Russell was 5-for-7 with a double, a home run, and one stolen base through two games this season at Double-A Midland. He posted an .865 OPS with 17 homers and 21 steals in 110 games last season between High-A Stockton and Triple-A Sacramento.
If the 20-year-old makes a full recovery and gets back into a groove offensively, he should reach the major league level by the end of the 2014 season.
Russell was ranked the No. 7 prospect in the game this winter by Baseball Prospectus.
Oakland’s current starting shortstop, Jed Lowrie, is set to become a free agent after the 2014 season.