A's Nick Kurtz to report to MLB camp in spring

Jason Burke | Nov 10, 2024

Jun 21, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons first baseman Nick Kurtz (8) gets an out during the first inning against the LSU Tigers at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Athletics GM David Forst recently told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that top pick Nick Kurtz will be in big league camp for Spring Training. While that's not necessarily a surprise, it is now official.

Kurtz, selected by the A's with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest, has been extremely impressive in his brief showings as a professional. It took him all of seven games in A Ball with Stockton to prove that he needed to be challenged a bit more, so the team promoted him to Double-A Midland, skipping a level entirely, where he contrinued to mash before a hamstring injury shut him down for the final few weeks of the regular season.

Now Kurtz is in the Arizona Fall League grabbing a few more at-bats against some of the best prospects in baseball. In nine games, he has continued to mash, going 13-for-36 (.361) with seven walks and ten strikeouts. The seven free passes help bump his on-base percentage up to .465. He's also clobbered a home run, legged out a triple, and secured two doubles in his brief time in Arizona.

Forst was also asked if Kurtz could be on the fast track to the big leagues. He told Gallegos, "after what [A’sNo. 1 prospect/MLBNo. 24] Jacob [Wilson] did this year, I wouldn’t put a timeframe on anybody. These days, guys are being promoted quicker and quicker. You never know."

The GM of a team isn't going to say that a prospect that was playing in college up until recently should make it to the big leagues in the coming months. That would just be heaping unnecessary pressure onto the player. However, it does appear as though Kurtz could certainly land himself a spot on the roster sooner rather than later, especially if he keeps hitting like he has.

In watching Kurtz take batting practice after he officially signed, you could tell that the ball just leaves his bat differently. It zips. He hit a number of balls to right that just got up and out in a hurry.

The past two seasons the A's have promoted a top prospect (or two) for the first game out of the All Star break. In 2023 they called up both Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof, and this past year it was Wilson that made his brief debut before landing on the IL. If that trend is going to continue into 2025, Kurtz would be the odds-on favorite of getting the call at that time, and he'd be the biggest name that the team could promote.

When Wilson graduates from the A's top prospect lists, Kurtz will be the team's No. 1 prospect.