The Secret Behind Success of Athletics' Henry Bolte

Zack Gelof's historical hitting streak has come to an end following a hand injury on Tuesday night, and he has been the team's most consistent hitter as of late. There's been no news on whether or not he'll need a stint on the IL.

Rookie outfielder Henry Bolte has also been a huge contributor to the offense, and there are a few fun stats on why he's been so successful.

Henry Bolte Lives by the Ground Ball

A major factor in Bolte's recent success is that he hits the ball on the ground about 65% of the time.

Nowadays, coaches and organizations will push their hitters to increase their launch angles in hopes of more home runs and extra-base hits. With Bolte, the A's might have told him to do otherwise.

The reason the groundball strategy works so well for Bolte is because of his high bat speed and his average exit velocity, which is one of the best in baseball. Pair that with his 100th percentile sprint speed, and he's practically beating out every single grounder.

His specialty has been just poking balls through the infielders and hitting them where the defenders aren't. It does cause Bolte to hit more routine groundouts, but he still bats over .300, and stays there because he gets so many singles.

Since the A's promoted Bolte, he's been one of the most fun hitters to watch because of his ability to hustle out these ground balls and create chaos on the base paths, and put lots of pressure on the defense.

Henry Bolte Looking To Hold Onto His Spot Past Clarke's Return

One of the main reasons Bolte has the opportunity to play this early in the season is an injury to the electric defender, Denzel Clarke.

When Denzel Clarke was placed on the IL, the team elected that Zack Gelof would become their centerfielder, and that was short-lived.

The team would experiment with Gelof at third base, hoping to call up Bolte to serve as the everyday centerfielder. Once Gelof proved he could play third base, they kept him there and promoted Bolte.

The A's will be re-evaluating Clarke after the All-Star break, in hopes that he could make a return. However, Clarke might not have a place in the A's lineup because of Bolte's success.

If Clarke doesn't have a spot in the lineup, the team might elect to trade Clarke or have him play every day in Triple-A with the Las Vegas Aviators.