A's rookie second baseman continues to make his presence felt
One of the hottest hitters in baseball over the last 30 days, Oakland Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof continued that hot streak by slugging his ninth home run in only 125 at-bats on Monday night.
With Kansas City Royals pitcher Alec Marsh on the mound, Gelof sent the first pitch in the bottom of the third inning over the centerfield wall.
He became the fastest player in Athletics history to reach nine career home runs doing it in his 32 career game according to A's television analyst Dallas Braden.
Making his MLB debut on July 14, Gelof struggled in his first month of action. With a .218/.283/.491 slash line including three home runs and six RBI in his 14 games in July.
But so far in the month of August, it is hard to find a more impressive hitter. In 18 games this month, the 23-year-old has slashed .371/.436/.729 with six home runs and 11 RBI with a few games left in the month to play.
Already etching his name in the MLB history book, he has been one of the few bright spots during a rough season in Oakland with uncertainty surrounding the future of the organization and where they might play.
A second-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia, Gelof was a .292 career hitter in 201 minor league games including 37 home runs, 140 RBI and 40 stolen bases.
At 35-90 the Athletics are in the driver's seat for the best chance at winning the MLB Draft lottery in 2024 and with fellow top prospect outfielder Lawrence Butler recently joining Gelof in the MLB, the A's will hope that they can bring some hope to this franchise in desperate need of it.
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