ANAHEIM – Even as opposing pitchers have drastically shifted to a much more careful approach against Nick Kurtz throughout a sensational rookie campaign, one thing remains constant: If you decide to challenge him and make a mistake, the young slugger is most likely going to make you pay.
Over the first two innings of Saturday’s 17-4 Athletics victory over the Angels at Angel Stadium, Kurtz went to the plate twice and watched eight pitches go by – none of which were all that close to being strikes – from Yusei Kikuchi that ended in a pair of four-pitch walks.
Leading off the fourth against reliever Chase Silseth, Kurtz finally saw a pitch in the zone. The result? A thunderous crack of the bat on a 2-2 fastball on the outer top corner that Kurtz obliterated at an exit velocity of 110.7 mph for a majestic shot that sailed onto the rockpile beyond center field and splashed into the flowing waterfall.
“That just shows his discipline,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s accomplished in a lot of ways and advanced. That kind of sums it up. For his age and where he’s at in the game, the ability to take two walks and then hit a homer says a lot about his approach, focus and discipline, which was a target when we scouted him. Our scouts did a great job of watching a young player control the strike zone with that type of power.”
The amount of quality pitches in the zone seen by Kurtz has rapidly decreased since he sent shockwaves through the baseball world as the first rookie to ever hit four homers in a game back in July. In turn, Kurtz has drawn a lot more walks, which he has zero issues with.
“They were doing a good job of picking around the zone, and I was just trying to stay within the approach,” Kurtz said. “I’ll take my walks. We’ve got a good lineup. They’ll hit me in. As long as I can get on first base, that’s great.”
Maintaining that disciplined approach can be easier said than done for a player like Kurtz, who has only been a professional for a little over a year now after he was selected fourth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. That elite hit tool, however, is why Kurtz has catapulted beyond the conversation of being the best among his rookie peers and into consideration as one of the best hitters in baseball, period.
Since the All-Star break, Kurtz leads the Majors (min. 30 games) in OPS (1.240), on-base percentage (.494), slugging percentage (.746), runs scored (42) and ranks second in batting average (.373).
“He’s a special hitter, man,” A’s designated hitter Brent Rooker said of Kurtz. “He goes up there every night and does something to turn your head. … He can anchor a lineup for a very long time, and we’re looking forward to seeing him do that.”
With only 19 games left in the regular season, Kurtz, who leads all Major League rookies in home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits, runs and walks, has all but wrapped up American League Rookie of the Year honors. All that’s left for him is to see just how historic of a rookie year he ends up with. Launching his 29th big fly on Saturday, the 22-year-old first baseman is now just one homer shy of joining Mark McGwire (49 in 1987) and Jose Canseco (33 in 1986) as the third A’s rookie with a 30-plus homer season.
“I envisioned myself being up here at some point throughout the year,” Kurtz said. “But as early as I [was called up] and having this much success has truly been a blessing. I just hope we can keep using what we’re doing, playing really good baseball, for the rest of September and into next year.”
Kurtz’s Statcast-projected 447-foot blast matched the longest of his career and highlighted a season-best 21-hit offensive onslaught that included Carlos Cortes’ first career home run, as well as homers by JJ Bleday and Colby Thomas. Cortes and Bleday’s home runs both came off infielder Scott Kingery, who took the mound for the Angels to pitch the eighth and ninth with the game out of hand and actually struck out Kurtz on a 32.5 mph pitch.
“We came out of St. Louis a little frustrated with the offense there the last two games,” Kotsay said. “We’ve come out the last two days with a great game plan and swinging the bats really well.”