When Will Nick Kurtz Make His MLB Debut with A's?

It's no secret that Athletics No. 1 prospect Nick Kurtz is off to a hot start this season with Triple-A Las Vegas. He's begun the year batting .367 with a .409 OBP and seven home runs in 14 games played. The open question that has been circulating around the internet is just how long the A's can keep him in the minors.

Kurtz was selected by the A's with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and played in all of 12 games in the minors last year before a hamstring injury ended his regular season. Seven of those games were in A Ball with the Stockton Ports before he skipped a level and went up to Double-A Midland, where he'd get into another five before the inury.

Those showings, along with a stint in the Arizona Fall League and during spring games, was enough for the A's to start him in Triple-A. All he's shown is that he can rake at that level too. Given how quickly he's been promoted already, and how quickly the A's moved 2023's sixth overall pick Jacob Wilson to the big leagues last season, Kurtz could be in West Sacramento at any moment.

Wilson started the 2024 campaign, his first full season in the pros, in Double-A Midland, where he played in 22 games before he was promoted to Vegas on May 8. There, he would miss about a month from May 16 through June 17, which delayed his MLB debut to the first game out of the All-Star break in July.

Without that injury, Wilson likely would have made his debut even earlier.

Ahead of Sunday's game against the visiting New York Mets, Athletics on SI asked manager Mark Kotsay about their top prospect's development, and if they're looking for anything in particular from him.

"I don't think we're necessarily looking for something. I mean, he's pretty advanced. He showed that throughout spring training with his approach for a 22-year-old hitter. He definitely understands the strike zone. He's got the tool--the power tool.

"You look at the swing and miss in zone and try to kind of evaluate that. It's really one of the biggest factors I think that we can look at. But he's done as much or more than what's needed. From our standpoint, you never time a move, you just have to make the move.

"That's something that we've obviously discussed and will continue to discuss. His start is pretty impressive."

This was arguably more of an admission that he's coming soon than we were expecting to hear. Typically there would be a bit more hedging, but the A's skipper didn't shy away from the fact that Kurtz has been mashing and that he deserves to get his shot before long.

While no direct timetable was given, the fact that the team has already had some discussions about when to move him up should mean that we should expect the move in the next couple of weeks, if he continues at the clip that's he's producing.

Last season Wilson just kept producing at an undeniable rate, and the A's had to challenge him by bringing him up. If Kurtz doesn't find the pitching in Triple-A to be a challenge, then there is only one more level that he can go to.

The question of what happens to the roster when Kurtz comes up was also discussed pre-game.

"I think the beauty of the process will be that we're adding a bat that can have impact in the lineup," the A's manager said. "How we do that is continually being discussed, but there's opportunity for a rotation to happen between an outfield position, that DH position, and first base position. Possibly using third base is something we could do. There's a ton of options."

With Gio Urshela signed during the offseason to play third base, the A's feel that the spot is relatively certain with him there. That said, their goal is to "keep Gio healthy." Urshela has been dealing with "some lower leg issues" that have led to him getting a couple of days off each week, including in two of the past four games.

If one of either current first baseman Tyler Soderstrom or Kurtz were to be moved around, the likely candidate would be Soderstrom, if only because he's more experienced at this level. That said, his defense at first base has improved greatly from year to year, but he's also 6-foot-2, while Kurtz is 6-foot-5, making it more likely he'd find success at another position.

In a DH rotation, that would mean Brent Rooker would be in the outfield on a more regular basis, with him receiving just one start--in right field--so far this season. That would be the easiest approach for fitting the two first basemen into the lineup at the same time, but it would also make it so that left field would be in question.

Miguel Andujar is set to hit free agency following the season, but he's currently batting .286 with a .340 on-base. With Butler in right and JJ Bleday in center, left seems like the only spot that isn't nailed down in the outfield, but Andujar has been a solid bat for the club this season.

There's a way to mix-and-match the lineup from day-to-day, but it's going to be a bit of a juggling act for Kotsay to get guys regular playing time.