Sep 13, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) hits a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

A's Trio Achieve Feat That No Other Club Has Touched in 2025

Originally posted on Oakland Athletics on SI
By Jason Burke | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 7:42 PM ET

There are 21 players that have hit at least 30 home runs in baseball this season, and two batters into the A's 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, Brent Rooker joined that list with a two-run homer. This is now the third straight season in which Rooker has joined the 30-homer club, smacking 30 in 2023 and 39 last season.

This year, however, he has some company. Catcher Shea Langeliers, after hitting 29 last season, is one of six players currently sitting on 30 homers on the year, including seven in the month of July and 11 in a torrid month of August, which led to him landing American League Player of the Month honors.

The final member of the slam band is rookie Nick Kurtz, who leads the pack with 32, ranking him 13th in all of baseball, despite playing in just 108 games this season. He was called up a few weeks into the season, and also spent a couple of weeks on the IL in late May with a strained left hip flexor.

What about the Mariners?

Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Technically, the Seattle Mariners have three players with over 30 home runs, with Cal Raleigh's 56, Julio Rodríguez's 30, and Eugenio Suárez's 46, but only two of those players have been with the team all season, while Suárez is more of a hired gun after being acquired at the Trade Deadline.

The New York Yankees are also on the cusp of having four players with over 30 home runs, but they aren't there just yet. Obviously Aaron Judge leads the way with 48, followed by a more surprising entry in Trent Grisham with 33.

Behind that duo are Jazz Chisholm and Cody Bellinger, both of whom have 29 dingers on the year. Tyler Soderstrom is the next-closest A's player to the 30 home run mark, sitting with 24 on the season.

What's been fun for the A's is that with Rooker, you can now almost certainly pencil him in for 30 bombs a year at this point, as he's become the anchor of the A's offense. Shea Langeliers has always had this level of power, but it has been his evolution into a more complete hitter that has made him a bigger threat at the plate.

Then of course with this being Kurtz's rookie season there is plenty of excitement over just what his ceiling will end up being. While the home runs stand out, he's also shown that he can go weeks without leaving the yard while also being an impactful bat in the A's lineup.

This A's group of hitters is becoming a dangerous bunch, and it should help lead them into postseason contention next season.

This article first appeared on Oakland Athletics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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