This rookie lightning Bolte continues to wow A's with blazing speed

In a way, the second hit of Henry Bolte’s May 13 MLB debut essentially provided the best preview of what the A’s were going to see from him through his first weeks in the bigs.

On a 2-2 pitch against Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore, Bolte topped a ball down the third-base line. It traveled just 48 feet with an exit velocity of 58.8 mph, the kind of batted-ball profile that gave him just a 14% chance of getting a hit. Nolan Gorman’s throw pulled Alec Burleson off first, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Bolte beat the ball to the bag with a sprint speed of 31.3 feet per second, over one second faster than what Statcast labels as “elite.”

In the 44 games since, Bolte has used that speed to maintain a batting average that has consistently hovered around .300. His scouting report indicates he could one day contribute some slug, as well, something the A’s believe with unshaken faith will arrive in due time. Until then, he’ll keep displaying a level of quickness that has helped him make an immediate impact at the big league level.

"The one thing that doesn't generally slump is speed,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He's got several infield hits. He's got power, and the power will come. It's a matter of time.

“We're working on getting him into his legs to be able to elevate the ball a little bit more, but we don't want to change much about Henry. We're going to let him play. He's having success, and it's fun to watch.”

Bolte has certainly teased his power in the Minors since being selected by the A’s in the second round of the 2022 Draft. He caught the baseball world by storm a few days before his callup when he recorded a hit in 12 straight plate appearances, with seven of those knocks going for extra bases. A week before his MLB promotion, he blasted a Statcast-projected 479-foot homer, what was at the time the furthest home run launched at any professional level this season.

That ability to consistently hit for power hasn’t met Bolte in the Majors just yet, as only eight of his 43 hits for the A’s have gone for extra bases. But he has still evaded any significant rookie struggles so far, thanks in large part to an unparalleled ability to burn up the baseline.

Bolte is averaging a sprint speed of 30.5 feet per second, faster than any other big leaguer. For the record, that’s not just for this season. Bolte is currently averaging the fastest sprint speed since the metric began being tracked in 2015. Bobby Witt Jr. (30.4), Trea Turner (30.2) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (29.7) are three speedsters who are all known for their ability to blaze around the basepaths, and all three are also behind Bolte in the current standings.

Yes, Bolte’s sample size is smaller than those of the players listed. But that does little to take away how valuable his speed is when it comes to making him an impact bat for the A’s. It’s helped him leg out eight infield hits since joining the club. It’s ensured that he’s able to maintain a . 414 batting average on balls in play despite a 65.3% groundball rate that’s over 20% higher than MLB average.

Most importantly, that speed has helped him hold his own in the bigs while the Athletics wait for him to develop into the elite talent they believe he'll become.

“He is having a lot of success right now. But it's going to take time for him to develop into the player he is going to be in two years,” A's director of hitting Darren Bush said. “He's going to go out there and play hard. He's going to do everything. He's going to beat out groundballs. He's going to do the things that help the team win on a daily basis.

“But I suspect we'll see a different player in two years than we're seeing right now, which is a good thing, because the one we're seeing right now is already extremely talented.”

For what it’s worth, Bolte has already hinted that he could begin hitting for more power sooner rather than later. He crushed a pair of homers in June, both of which traveled over 400 feet. His average bat speed of 77.0 mph trails only nine big leaguers with at least 200 swings this season, while his 48.0% hard-hit rate is over 10% higher than MLB average. It’s enough to indicate he could start adding more slug to his repertoire once he begins squaring up pitches more frequently.

But for now, Bolte is maintaining his success by keeping his approach as simple as possible.

“I'm just trying to go up and put up a competitive, quality at-bat every time,” Bolte said. “You do that enough, chances are, you're going to have good numbers.”

Having a level of speed currently unmatched by anyone in the bigs certainly helps that cause. It’s also a big reason why the A’s are so amazed at how quickly Bolte has been able to contribute to their lineup.

“If you were to talk to a lot of the development coaches here,” Kotsay said, “they'd probably say ... there's not a chance he makes it [to the big leagues] by four years or less. Here he is holding his own. He's helping us win games. ... He's been a real joy to have.”