WEST SACRAMENTO – Athletics manager Mark Kotsay was caught a bit off guard when he glanced up at the TV inside his office last week. Watching MLB Network in the midst of playoff race coverage, the topic on the screen was instead a segment highlighting Henry Bolte.
“They were doing something on Henry, specifically about his year and the bright spot for us,” Kotsay said. “Obviously, he’s been one.”
Even as the A’s approach the end of another season in which they’ll finish near the bottom of the American League West, Bolte has forced himself into the national spotlight with his massive success over the past couple of months.
With four games left to play, performances like Wednesday night are why Bolte probably wishes he had four more months. The 23-year-old rookie had his hands all over a 7-3 victory over the Angels at Sutter Health Park, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI to notch his first career four-hit game.
“We’ve talked about him maturing and making adjustments,” Kotsay said. “We saw that tonight. He’s been at the top of the lineup for an extended period of time now, and he’s earned that opportunity. It’s fun to watch his skill set come to a point where he’s established himself. There are good things ahead for him.”
Wednesday’s matchup with Angels starter Walbert Ureña was an example of the game of adjustments Bolte has been winning. Sinkerballers like Ureña are the types of arms who were giving him trouble early on in his Major League career.
On this night, however, Bolte collected three hits in three at-bats against Ureña. The third at-bat was the biggest signal that Bolte has evolved as a hitter. He identified a slightly elevated first-pitch sinker and hammered it to left field at 115.1 mph off the bat – the highest exit velocity of any hitter in the game – for a double.
“He’s got an electric sinker and really good stuff,” Bolte said of Ureña. “It’s definitely been a challenge the first few times I’ve faced him. I was able to grind out an infield single and shoot one the other way, but that third [hit] was more of a nod to the stuff we’ve been working on. Getting the bat head out and being able to keep that ball fair with true spin and off the ground. That was great.”
Bolte has now reached base safely in each of his 20 games in September. Over that stretch, the outfielder is batting .320 (24-for-75) with five home runs, four doubles, 10 RBIs and seven stolen bases.
This is more than just a three-week stretch, though. Dating back to Aug. 1, Bolte is now hitting .314 (59-for-188) with eight homers, nine doubles and nine stolen bases. That stretch followed a month in which he was exposed by opposing pitchers, hitting just .164 in July.
There are too many quality rookies in the AL this season for Bolte to have much of a case for Rookie of the Year. But since his callup to the Majors on May 12, he’s quickly emerged as a player the A’s now view as a key piece of their young core going forward, joining the likes of Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler and Shea Langeliers.
“I had hopes that I’d play well,” Bolte said. “I definitely had confidence coming in and just treating it like baseball. … I’ve just been trying to keep that mindset. It’s nice to be rolling. I’m just trying to finish strong this year and carry that momentum into the offseason to build toward next year.”
Before the offseason comes, Bolte and the A’s will have one more chance to impact the playoff picture against the division rival Astros, who were tied with the Rangers for first place in the AL West as of Wednesday night. Their four-game series, which begins Thursday night at Sutter Health Park, is a valuable opportunity to face off against a team that will essentially be in must-win mode every day.
“If we can go out and compete and, hopefully, mess that up for them, it’d be great,” Bolte said. “Just getting in that environment is great. … It’ll be a fun last series to finish up.”