Here's how Kurtz is developing into a superstar one year after pro debut

BALTIMORE -- Nick Kurtz still vividly remembers the anxiety he felt ahead of his first professional game.

About two months after getting drafted fourth overall by the Athletics in the 2024 MLB Draft, Kurtz was joined by several of his fellow new draftees on Aug. 10 for his Minor League debut at Single-A Stockton.

“It was the first step of a new chapter,” Kurtz recalled. “So, it was definitely a little nerve-wracking.”

It didn’t take long for Kurtz to brush off those nerves and settle in that night. In his second at-bat, Kurtz scorched a ball 113 mph off the bat and into the right-field seats at Banner Island Ballpark, which probably should have been taken as a sign of what was soon to come.

Exactly one year to the date from his pro debut, Kurtz stepped onto the field at Camden Yards for Sunday’s game against the Orioles as a budding superstar. The 22-year-old first baseman entered with a 1.024 OPS that ranked second in MLB among players with at least 300 plate appearances this season, trailing only Aaron Judge (1.144) and ahead of bona fide sluggers like Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber and Cal Raleigh.

Kurtz considers himself a fairly confident individual. After starring in college for Wake Forest, he expected to become a great one day at the next level. But even he is admittedly a bit shocked by how quickly he’s reached this type of greatness in such a short amount of time.

“It’s crazy that it’s only been a year,” Kurtz said. “Did I expect me to be here? I don’t know. Probably not. But I’m glad it’s happening.”

The heavy favorite to win American League Rookie of the Year, Kurtz is doing things that have only been done before him by legends of the game. He’s fresh off July AL Rookie and Player of the Month honors -- only the 10th player in MLB history to ever to win both for the same month -- for a remarkable stretch highlighted by a 6-for-6 night in Houston which saw him become the 20th overall player and first rookie to hit four home runs in a game.

“He was uber-talented out of the Draft and a very successful college player,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “I wasn’t shocked by the fact that we wanted to promote him as quickly as we did. But the success is obviously something that opens your eyes, especially with the awards he’s been able to achieve so far.”

Kurtz entered Sunday without a home run since that four-homer game on July 25. And yet, this homerless stretch he’s been on following that historic night in some ways shows just how truly elite of a hitter he is. Batting .326 (14-for-43) with 10 walks in the 12 games after that four-homer explosion, Kurtz extended a career-best on-base streak to 25 games with a walk in the first inning on Sunday.

“For Nick, the power is always going to be there,” Kotsay said. “When you have that type of attention and that type of game, you become the spotlight for any team that you’re going to face going forward. We’ve seen that with Nick. He’s definitely not being pitched to in any aggressive way, and that’s probably the result of that four-homer game and the attention it brought upon him.”

Pitchers have indeed pitched Kurtz way more carefully in the aftermath. Here’s a breakdown of how teams had been attacking him differently, which was put together before Saturday’s 11-3 win over Baltimore:

Fewer pitches in the strike zone: His overall in-zone rate has dropped to 44.7% since July 26 (vs. 52.1% thru July 25). However, he has maintained his discipline. His chase rate since July 26 is 20.0%, compared to 22.8% before.

In-zone rate on different pitch classifications since July 26:

Fastballs: 52.9% (60.8% pre-July 26)

Breaking: 34.0% (44.1% pre-July 26)

Offspeed: 30.3% (41.8% pre-July 26)

More fastballs: The rate of fastballs (four-seamers, sinkers, cutters) he’s seeing has increased to 59.8% since July 26 (vs. 51.5% before).

More elevated four-seamers: 62.2% of the four-seamers he has seen since July 26 have been elevated (upper 3rd of strike zone or higher), compared to 45.3% before.

Maintaining that plate discipline when you’re rarely seeing any quality pitches to hit can be difficult for any hitter, let alone a rookie like Kurtz. His ability to keep doing so is why Kurtz is not just your typical young power hitter. He is emerging as a truly special hitter.

“Obviously, there’s a little frustration," Kurtz said. “You want to do the things that help the team produce runs. Sometimes, you’re just not able to. I’m just trying to do what I can with what they give me.”