It takes a lot of athleticism to be able to play all over the diamond. The Athletics’ Zack Gelof meets that requirement.
“He’s a superior athlete,” A’s teammate Max Muncy said of Gelof. “What he can do at multiple positions is awesome. If you guys saw him in the gym, you’d understand how he can do that.”
No matter where he is on defense, Gelof’s contributions offensively have been quite welcome. He entered Monday’s off-day riding a 24-game hitting streak, making him one of four A’s players in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to reach that milestone, joining Jason Giambi (25 in 1997), Miguel Tejada (24 in 2002) and Carney Lansford (24 in 1984).
Never mind hitting, according to Gelof, you could just watch Gelof dunk. It came during his senior year of high school in 2018, during a Sunday basketball session -- a regular occurrence -- at the local YMCA. During one pickup game, one of Gelof’s pals became a victim of the Delaware native’s success, and the moment was captured on film.
When the two players were picked in the first and second rounds of the 2021 Draft by the A’s, Gelof showed Muncy a video of him slamming down a dunk -- a clip Muncy still remembers, five years later.
“Looking back, it was kind of unfair,” Gelof said. “My buddy, he didn’t even play any sports. But we were all having a good time at the Y, and I felt good that day. It was funny. I’ve still got it somewhere.”
Gelof has focused on baseball ever since, starring at Virginia before being drafted by the A’s, but his long-ago slam is a good reminder of what he can do -- whether it’s on the court or on the baseball field.
He started Sunday’s game against the Angels at Sutter Health Park at second base, his sixth start this season at second -- the only position he had played in the Majors prior to this season. Gelof has seen most of his time this season at third base (36 starts), but he’s also started in center field (nine starts) and right field (three).
With that kind of versatility, it makes sense why Gelof brings both an outfielder’s and infielder’s glove with him any time he takes part in fielding drills. He doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’s really fun, especially because it gives Kots [manager Mark Kotsay] the ability to maneuver the lineup however he wants,” Gelof said. “It’s something that I’m going to continue to work on, for sure.”
In 61 games this season, Gelof has a slash line of .284/.338/.500 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs. After he hit .174 with a .502 OPS in 101 plate appearances -- including 46 strikeouts -- during an injury-ravaged 2025, he has shown considerable improvement.
“I feel like I’ve been more consistent than last year,” Gelof said. “I feel like my process has been really good. And there’s still things that I feel like I can get better at, so I'm trying to just keep getting better every day.”
Gelof retooled his swing during the offseason, leveling out his swing path and bringing his attack angle more in line with his first two MLB seasons. This year, his bat speed has soared to an above-average 73.8 mph, up from 72.1 mph in 2025. That’s big for a player who missed the first half of 2025 due to offseason hamate surgery, then dislocated his left shoulder in September.
“Coming into the season, I wasn’t perfectly healthy because I was coming off shoulder surgery, but just coming back and feeling like myself, my athletic self, learning to play new positions and leaning into athleticism, it’s been fun [this year],” Gelof said. “Whenever I feel like I can help the team by moving around and putting up consistent at-bats, it makes you feel good about yourself.”
Gelof’s season numbers are quite similar to his stats from his impressive 2023 debut, when he posted a .264/.337/.504 slash line in 69 games, including 14 homers and 14 stolen bases. This season, he has eight steals in nine attempts and is playing above-average defense overall.
It’s been quite the year for Gelof, and those who know him best aren’t surprised one bit.
“I think it’s been awesome,” Muncy said. “I think a lot of us have known that it was in there. Even though he had that rocky season a couple of seasons ago, we knew what a great player he was and that he’d come back.”