The accolades continue to pile up for Nick Kurtz following a historically impressive rookie campaign.
Kurtz’s latest achievement is a spot on the All-MLB Second Team presented by MGM Rewards at first base, becoming the only rookie voted to any All-MLB First or Second Team in 2025.
The All-MLB honors, established in 2019, recognize baseball’s best at each position based on regular-season play. Kurtz finished behind Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was named to the First Team, and is the first Athletics position player to receive an All-MLB selection since Marcus Semien made the Second Team in '19.
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It has been an incredibly fast rise for Kurtz, who, around this time last year, was only a few months removed from college as the fourth overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft by the A’s. Debuting on April 23, just 283 days from the date he was drafted, Kurtz went on to hit .290 with 36 home runs, 86 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS over 117 games. He was one of only three players with at least 400 plate appearances and an OPS over 1.000. The others? Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Like those two superstars, Kurtz also earned a Silver Slugger Award, the first of his career, last week, then he was named the AL Rookie of the Year Award winner on Monday.
Turning 23 in March, Kurtz is quickly growing into a role as a face of this A’s franchise, part of a core with a bright future that also includes fellow American League Rookie of the Year finalist Jacob Wilson, as well as Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker.
Kurtz is already viewed as a clubhouse leader, and his performance on the field so far suggests that he is emerging as a young star who could soon be mentioned in the same breath as the other greats on this year’s All-MLB list, such as Ohtani, Judge, Guerrero and Cal Raleigh.