A's Promote Henry Bolte to Double-A

Jason Burke | Jul 2, 2024

Lugnuts' Henry Bolte smiles after an out in the second inning on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, during the Crosstown Showdown against Michigan State at Jackson Field in Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

With the 56th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Oakland Athletics selected high school outfielder Henry Bolte. His tools were tantalizing, with his power and speed potential leading the way, and the hope of a guy that could be a 20/20 or even 30/30 player for the team down the line. He currently ranks as Oakland's No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Over the course of parts of three years in the A's organization, Bolte has been fairly consistent with his rate stats, walking between 12.6% and 12.9% in each of the three seasons, while his strikeout rate started at 48.7% the year he was drafted in 11 Complex League games, fell to 33.4% last season, and now sits at 31.8% this year.

On the flip side, his batting average has gone up from .212 to .257 with Stockton in 2023, to .278 with Lansing this year. On top of hitting .278, Bolte has also slugged 11 home runs in 69 games, stole 28 bags, and had a wRC+ of 155, which was tied for second in the Midwest League.

In his first game in Double-A with the Midland RockHounds, Bolte went 3-for-4 with three singles, a walk, a strikeout, and he also swiped a base and was caught once. It was an all-around experience, showing some of the tools that make him such an intriguing prospect for the A's, while also showing some of the flaws in his game that he needs to continue to work on.

Bolte is still just 20 years old, and will turn 21 in just over a month. The 6-foot-3 San Francisco native has been helped by a high BABIP at .418 this year, but his walk rate shows that he knows the zone and should be able to make necessary adjustments at the next level. The BABIP may be related to the level of play not quite being the same as it is in the upper minors, as evidenced by the ten times he's been hit by a pitch.

With Lansing, Bolte spent the majority of his time roaming center, getting 38 games at the position compared to 25 in right field. In his Double-A debut, he was in right and batting third. With Denzel Clarke (A's No. 3 prospect) in Midland, there is a good chance that most of Bolte's opportunities come in right field for the time being.

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