Elephant Rumblings: Kurtz No. 14 in latest prospect rankings

MLB news roundup

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!

In less than a year since being taken in the first round of the MLB Draft, Nick Kurtz has sped his way up the minor league ranks to become the A’s everyday first baseman, and now No. 16 has taken a big jump up MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects List to No. 14, the only Athletics representative on the list. Shortstop Jacob Wilson most recently appeared at No. 68 in the 2024 rankings before graduating to rookie status.

The A’s took Kurtz as the fourth overall draft pick last year to somewhat mixed but generally positive response, but since then the 22-year-old slugger has very effectively validated the A’s front office’s decision. Nick seemed completely out of place in the minors, smashing 15 home runs in fewer than 200 plate appearances and forcing his way to a major league debut on April 23rd. He’s been starting regularly at first base since then, which resulted in Tyler Soderstrom shifting to left field.

Kurtz was actually in a bit of a slump in Triple-A when he was called up to the majors, and he’s struggled some through these first two-plus weeks in the bigs: through 59 plate appearances, Kurtz is slashing .269/.322/.327 with a wRC+ of 85. His K rate is in the stratosphere at 39.0% and his isolated slugging is a paltry .058. We’ve yet to see Kurtz knock one out for the A’s.

All that said, I think many of you would agree that we’re seeing day-to-day, incremental progress from Nick and a respectable amount of hard contact. He’s not a liability at all on defense. I have no doubt that he’s worthy of his Top 20 status among the game’s best prospects—and somehow I feel he’s in the big leagues to stay.

Would you agree that Kurtz will likely remain at the MLB level even if forced to dog-paddle a bit longer until he can comfortably stay above water? Or might he be sent down for a reset if he doesn’t settle in pretty quickly? I’m genuinely interested in what folks think about this.

Have a terrific week, AN.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s ambushed by Yankees in 12-2 loss
• Athletics ride offense to 11-7 victory over Yankees
• A’s crushed by Yankees 10-2
• In Sacramento, A’s players don’t exactly feel like they’re at home ($)
• Latest Athletics injuries and transactions
• ‘We got Mother’s Day back’: A look back at Braden’s perfect game

MLB News & Interest:

• See which prospects made big jumps on the freshly updated Top 100 list
• Rockies fire Bud Black; peer says ‘I don’t think Casey Stengel’ could change season ($)
• Jose Altuve Exits Due To Hamstring Tightness
• Rockies Select Ryan Rolison, Transfer Kris Bryant To 60-Day IL
• Marcus Stroman Has Setback In Rehab From Knee Inflammation
• Latest On Blake Snell
• Latest sign of U.S.-Canada tensions: fewer Blue Jays fans make annual trek to Seattle ($)
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

McFarland to undergo MRI today per latest injuries and transactions.

Turns out this would be the Oakland Athletics’ final World Series Championship win.