KANSAS CITY -- The A's called up one of their top hitting prospects ahead of Thursday's series finale against the Royals.

With Khris Davis on paternity leave for the birth of his second child, Sheldon Neuse's contract was purchased from Triple-A Las Vegas. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A's designated left-hander Wei-Chung Wang for assignment.

Neuse, Oakland's No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was acquired in a 2017 trade with the Nationals that also netted the A's No. 1 prospect Jesus Luzardo and reliever Blake Treinen in exchange for Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle. Neuse has received most of his playing time at third base with Triple-A Las Vegas this season, though he's recently been getting more starts at second base over the past week. The 24-year-old brings some impressive numbers at the plate, slashing .317/.389/.550 with 27 home runs and 102 RBIs in 126 games with Las Vegas.

"This is a guy that two springs ago had about as good of a spring as anybody on the team," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He has a really good approach. He hits the ball to all fields with power, and he's more versatile this year. He's having a good year, and we reward those guys."

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