Joey Votto earned a reputation as not only one of MLB’s best hitters during his 17-year career, but also for being one of the game’s smartest hitters. He gave his take Tuesday on a young hitter who may already be in those conversations.
Asked to compare Yordan Alvarez and Nick Kurtz for MLB’s best hitter this season (considering Aaron Judge is on the IL), Votto said he prefers to evaluate players in three-year stretches, not one. Alvarez is the more established player, while we’re not even through two years with Kurtz.
But Votto is ready to push the envelope on the conversation surrounding the 23-year-old Kurtz. And who can blame him? The A’s slugger has been worth 159 wRC+, now tapping back into his power after a slow start and continuing to walk at the highest rate in the Majors.
“I see a guy who has a chance to be the best hitter in the game,” Votto said during his weekly appearance on “MLB Now.” “I see a guy who has a chance to be one of those special hitters during a generation.”
Why? Because Votto sees all the necessary tools in Kurtz, from patience to bat speed to being able to hit both left- and right-handed pitching.
“Nick has absolutely every little bit of that,” Votto said. “His only flaw, I suppose, is the high strikeout rate, but I think that that's just the exchange for the rest of it: getting deep into counts, being able to get on base, and then getting that A-plus-plus swing off.”
Alvarez, 29, is in his prime. As such, he comfortably leads MLB in wRC+ at 179, crushing the ball for a surging Astros club. But Kurtz is still just scratching the surface, and Votto particularly likes that he continues to make adjustments with a “nearly perfect swing.”
“I think we have Aaron Judge plus on base,” Votto said. “I think we have Jeff Bagwell. I think we have Frank Thomas.”