Kurtz still looking for first homer, but showing that he 'belongs here'

This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos' Athletics Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WEST SACRAMENTO -- When Nick Kurtz was called up on April 23 for his Major League debut, he led all of baseball -- Minors and Majors -- with seven home runs.

That we are almost two weeks into the Nick Kurtz Era and the Athletics’ No. 1 prospect (MLB Pipeline’s No. 33 overall prospect) remains homerless does feel a bit strange. Despite the power outage, A’s manager Mark Kotsay has been pleased with what he’s seen from Kurtz’s small sample size in the big leagues.

“Nick’s getting his feet on the ground,” Kotsay said before Monday’s series opener against the Mariners. “It’s always difficult to make that jump. Nick’s had less than 500 Minor League plate appearances. But that confidence he has, I don’t see that wavering. I see a kid that belongs here and can impact our club.”

Homers aside, Kurtz has contributed in other ways for the A’s, who entered Monday 9-3 since Kurtz debuted. Through 11 games played over that stretch, Kurtz was hitting .278 (10-for-36) and reached safely in 10 of those contests. In Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Marlins, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound first baseman even showed off some sneaky speed by slicing a liner down the left-field line and racing from home plate to third base in 12.05 seconds for a ninth-inning triple that set up the go-ahead run.

Neither Kurtz nor the A’s doubt that the power will come. It’s one of the many standout tools that made him such a highly-regarded prospect. And even though Sunday’s triple was his first extra-base hit, Kurtz has been demonstrating top-tier bat speed throughout his time in the Majors.

Entering Monday, Kurtz’s average bat speed was 77.5 mph; in 2024, the average Major League bat speed was 72 mph.

Though he does not have enough at-bats to qualify for the leaderboards, Kurtz’s mark would put him at fourth among the current Major League leaders, behind only Oneil Cruz, Junior Caminero and Jordan Walker and ahead of superstars such as Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge.

This likely means that, once Kurtz inevitably starts squaring up more pitches, the ball should start to fly with more regularity.

“It’s going to take time for him to get comfortable and to produce the way that he’s produced in a limited time in the Minor Leagues,” Kotsay said. “Everyone wants to say he’s a slug guy. But this kid can hit. You saw that [on Sunday] with the ball he hit down the left-field line. I think he’s right where he needs to be right now.”