WEST SACRAMENTO – There was a running joke around the Athletics clubhouse as of late that “Tommy Tanks,” the nickname Tommy White earned during a prolific display of power during his college career, was relegated to “Tommy Singles.”
It has been a bit of an ironic start to his Major League career. Since White got called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 17, 22 of his first 24 hits over his first 25 games with the A’s had been singles. The other two were a pair of doubles. Not exactly Tanks-like for the A’s No. 10 prospect.
During Sunday’s 5-2 A’s victory over the Rangers at Sutter Health Park, however, “Tommy Tanks” finally arrived.
Leading off the bottom of the eighth against reliever Peyton Gray, White unloaded on a 2-0 fastball and sent it well beyond the center-field wall onto the berm for a Statcast-projected 413-foot solo home run, the first of his big league career.
Pumped up as he made his way back from his trip around the bases, White was ready for a full-on celebration, yelling and flexing his arms as he hopped across the A’s dugout. There was just one problem – nobody was willing to engage.
It was the classic silent treatment, with everyone straight-faced and quiet until he reached the end of the bench. A few seconds later, the entire dugout erupted and mobbed the rookie first baseman.
“The guys were pretty hard on him,” manager Mark Kotsay said, smiling. “They waited a long time to congratulate him. You can tell that there’s a good bond in there with him. Really happy for the kid.”
White enjoyed the playful teasing. After all, his first homer is something everyone has been eagerly awaiting since he first debuted, himself included.
“No doubt I’ve been thinking about it,” White said. “It was my first [silent treatment]. I’ve only seen it on TV. So, being part of that was pretty cool.”
Power was the standout tool for White in college. Across three seasons, beginning at North Carolina State in 2022 and continuing at LSU from 2023-24, he slugged 75 home runs and posted a 1.123 OPS in 187 games to finish eighth on the NCAA Division I all-time home run list.
Since turning pro, however, White has been more of a contact hitter with elite bat-to-ball skills. At the time of his callup, he was a career .279 hitter with 24 homers in his first 194 games as a Minor Leaguer.
Despite the lack of power to this point, White has held his own as a big leaguer, now batting .265 after Sunday’s two-hit day.
“He’s working hard,” Kotsay said. “We talk about young players trying to just fight for their survival. It was nice to see him get rewarded with a good swing.”
There are varying opinions as to why White’s power hasn’t fully materialized at the professional level yet. Some of it may have to do with his swing decisions, with contact skills so good that he’s able to get away with swinging at “bad” pitches, which often still result in hits.
The A’s and White believe the power will eventually show up as it did in college. Regardless, the 23-year-old is focused on becoming a complete hitter, with an opportunity to show that in what will be valuable development time for him over this final stretch of the regular season.
“The power aspect is there,” White said. “I like to be a hitter first. A hitter with power is really what I try to be. I’m going to keep doing that and try to get as many hits as possible. If they fly, they fly.”
White’s first Major League “tank” capped what was the A’s first series victory at Sutter Health Park since April 28-30 against the Royals, snapping a streak of six consecutive home series losses.
There was plenty to like in Sunday’s win. Jacob Lopez continued his solid run in the rotation since returning from the Minors by limiting Texas to two runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts across six innings.
Offensively, on a day in which the A’s lost another key slugger in Tyler Soderstrom to the IL, Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof stepped up and clobbered a pair of two-run homers.
“It’s great to have [Gelof] back,” Kotsay said. “His energy, leadership, this is a player that we really missed. For the losses that we’ve incurred, to have Zack back is a big help.”