Elephant Rumblings: Kurts to the IL, other minor league promotions

MLB news roundup

Good morning everyone! Hoping your day is starting perfectly on this beautiful Tuesday.

The farm system has seen a fair amount of shuffling in recent weeks. The July draft saw the club add a bevy of well-regarded young players that could be key fixtures for a future playoff-bound Athletics. The main prize was obviously the fourth overall pick in the draft with first baseman Nick Kurtz joining the organization. It didn’t take long for him to get going as he demolished Single-A pitching for the Ports for a solid seven games. The video game numbers he was posting gave the club no choice but to promote their prized first base prospect, even skipping High-A and sending him straight to Double-A.

Things looked like they were going just as smoothly at the next level for the Wake Forest product. In five games the lefty slugger went 4-for-13 with a stolen base but no home runs. We’d like to see more from him this year but that doesn’t look like it’ll be happening. In Saturday’s contest Kurtz strained his hamstring and will spend the next few weeks on the IL, and with the minor league season wrapping up in just a couple of weeks his season may be done. If it is it’ll still be an immensely encouraging start to his professional career as he’s already at Double-A and could be making that long-awaited MLB debut as soon as next summer. Next time we see him will be in March when the club gets together for spring training. That’s what should be circled on his calendar this offseason.

While Kurtz’s season is over that isn’t the same for Midland. Oakland’s Double-A affiliate has been on a tear all season but is still pushing for a spot in the playoffs. Even though they lose a stud lefty slugging first baseman they’ll at least get a righty slugging first baseman as his replacement. Oakland’s 13th round pick from last year’s draft Will Simpson has finally been promoted to Double-A to take Kurtz’s roster spot. After spending all year in High-A it’s about time for him. Just take a look at some of his rankings from his season so far:

Simpson gave the club a sneak peak of his potential last year but really shined here in Year 2. The righty slugger has a ways to go to crack the big league roster, what with fellow first basemen Tyler Soderstrom, Kurtz, and even Ryan Noda still ahead of him on the organizational depth chart. As a first baseman he needs to hit to provide value but he’s off to a good start so far in his young career. Double-A is always a test for younger players and we’ll see if Simpson sinks or swims against the better competition.

And he’s not the only prospect getting a promotion. Oakland’s 3rd-round pick from the most recent draft, infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, has earned his own promotion, departing Low-A Stockton and heading for High-A Lansing:

After posting those numbers you would hope that he’d get bumped up a level. Like Kurtz he made this decision an easy one for the organization’s higher ups, taking advantage of the minor league pitching and putting himself on the prospect map. Currently ranked as the team’s 13th-ranked prospect, Kuroda-Grauer is currently trying to stick at shortstop but the belief is that he’ll move across second base and end up there long-term, though a future as a multi-positional player isn’t out of the question. For now, though, the promotion to High-A should give the club a chance to see him face a bit stiffer competition before heading into the offseason. With the big league team going nowhere fast these final few weeks will be a fun time to check out these prospects like Kuroda-Grauer and Simpson to see how they do being tested. Who knows, we may be talking about what role they play for the big league club in less than a year.

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

MLB News & Interest:

• Athletics #2 prospect Nick Kurtz heading to IL with strained hamstring
• History! Danny Jansen plays for both teams in the same game
• Padres sign 2023 All-Star MVP Elias Diaz to minors pact
• Pirates to move Oneil Cruz to center field permanently
• Tigers shortstop Javier Baez undergoes season-ending hip surgery
• Pirates left-hander Brady Fiegl makes MLB debut at 33 years old
• NL race tightens in latest Rookie of the Year polls
• Nine players exceeding expectations in 2024
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Oakland’s #4 prospect hits his first homer for Stockton:

Stockton pitcher getting some well-earned recognition:

Diaz planning on getting some offseason game time in:

Hard to remember but Michael Kelly should be in next year’s bullpen mix: