Will Nick Kurtz Debut with the Athletics in 2025?
Last summer, the A's selected Wake Forest product Nick Kurtz with the fourth overall pick. Kurtz was one of the best bats available in the MLB Draft, as in his three-year college career, he never had an OPS lower than 1.100.
Kurtz reported to the A's Low-A affiliate, the Stockton Ports, after signing his contract with the A's. However, Kurtz wouldn't spend too much time in Stockton, as the left-handed first baseman would rake his way to a promotion. In 35 plate appearances with Stockton, Kurtz batted .400 with an OPS over 1.500.
Forst on A’s Cast re: Nick Kurtz: “He was effectively cosplaying Matt Olson in A-ball. … We wanted to challenge him.” https://t.co/KORNNVHUzj
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) August 20, 2024
As MLB.com's Martín Gallegos tweeted, A's general manager David Forst was getting Matt Olson flashbacks while watching Kurtz mash in Low-A. This prompted Forst to have Kurtz bypass High-A Lansing, and head straight to Double-A Midland.
Nick Kurtz continued to impress in Midland before suffering a minor injury, but ended up playing in the Arizona Fall League with the Mesa Solar Sox after the regular season ended.
Kurtz posted a .353 average in the Fall League with a 1.058 OPS. No matter what level Kurtz was playing at, he seemed to be a truly incredible hitter. When A's on SI saw him take batting practice in Oakland after he signed, the ball seemed to leave his bat differently than other hitters. The team elected that Nick Kurtz will get an invitation to the major league Spring Training this year.
The A's are heading into Spring Training with Tyler Soderstrom and Seth Brown likely getting the bulk of playing time at first base. With Seth Brown likely platooning in left field with Miguel Andujar, and Tyler Soderstrom getting reps at catcher, is there a chance the non-roster invite Nick Kurtz could make the Opening Day Roster?
Well, probably not. To allow Kurtz to make the Opening Day Roster, the team would not only have to make space on their crowded 26-man roster, but would also have to make space on the 40-man roster, not to mention he has about three weeks of playing time in the minor leagues to date.
After the A's decided to designate Kyle McCann for assignment, and acquired Jhonny Pereda to fight for a backup catcher spot, Tyler Soderstrom was seen in an A's social media post catching bullpens during the A's first pitchers and catchers workout.
we out here pitchin’ & catchin’ ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/Ck71EBn2sl
— Athletics (@Athletics) February 13, 2025
If by chance Pereda, and non-roster invites Willie MacIver, Daniel Susac, and the recently outrighted Kyle McCann all don't make the Opening Day Roster, it could possibly mean that Soderstrom would serve as the backup catcher. Given the stranglehold that Shea Langeliers has on the position, it's not a spot on the roster that gets a ton of playing time anyway.
If Soderstrom was the backup catcher, and Brown was primarily platooning with Miguel Andujar in left field, there would be an opening at first base for the A's.
This scenario could actually come into play if Nick Kurtz plays so well in Spring Training that the club would give him an Opening Day Roster spot. It's very unlikely, but at least they could somewhat realistically open that door for Kurtz if he has a monster spring campaign with the A's.
In this day and age, it's not super unpopular for teams to fast-track their higher-ranked prospects. Recently, teams like the Angels have been known to fast-track their prospects, and it's worked out pretty well. Guys like Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, and Ben Joyce have all been brought up to the big leagues rather quickly, but all have had success.
The A's themselves also fast-tracked their current number-one prospect, Jacob Wilson, just last season. Wilson was selected in the first round the year before Kurtz. This past summer, the club called him up to the big leagues, and he was pretty solid even after dealing with injuries that landed him on the injured list in his debut.
It's very unlikely that the A's will have Kurtz start on the Opening Day Roster, but just like Jacob Wilson did last season, the team could call him up at some point in 2025. Especially if Kurtz starts in Double-A or Triple-A and performs like he did in the AFL and minor leagues last year. Last season it was Wilson that got the call, and the year before it was Soderstrom and Zack Gelof after the break.
There is certainly a trend developing for the A's, and this year's most likely candidate for that promotion after the All Star game is Kurtz.
Nick Kurtz certainly seems like the first baseman of the future for the franchise because of his amazing hitting skills. It seems likely that he could debut sometime this season, but if not, he'll certainly be a big factor for the A's in years to come.
I grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about my favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but I love the team and all of the current and former players so much. I currently attend school at Penn State Scranton where I get the opportunity to play college baseball.