HOUSTON — Still holding a sizable lead for American League Rookie of the Year coming out of the All-Star break in MLB.com’s most recent poll last week, Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson may have just officially been overtaken by a new favorite — his teammate Nick Kurtz.
Following a historic performance for the ages on Friday night by going 6-for-6 with four home runs in a blowout win over the Astros and Daikin Park, Kurtz is making a strong case to surpass Wilson in a race that he has held a firm grip on as the top candidate for most of the season.
Kurtz leads all Major League rookies in home runs (23), RBIs (59) extra-base hits (43) and OPS (1.060) with his 18 doubles second most among AL rookies (behind Boston’s Carlos Narváez). Wilson still leads all rookies in batting average (.312), but Kurtz is even making a run at that top spot, now hitting .305 after his six-hit masterpiece.
“We haven’t really talked about it much,” Kurtz said. “But it’s awesome that it’s most likely going to be an A’s player. It’s really cool. Whether I win it or he wins it, we’re just really looking forward to representing the A’s and what we’re all about. Individual awards are good and all, but it’s not why we play the game. We’re excited to keep going and keep improving.”
The spectacular start to Kurtz’s career brought him his first Player of the Week Award, receiving the honor for the American League before Monday’s series opener against the Rangers at Globe Life Field for his red-hot series against the Guardians over the weekend.
Upon returning from the All-Star break, Kurtz batted .583 (7-for-12) with a home run, four doubles, a triple and four RBIs in three games at Cleveland. By tallying multiple hits and an extra-base hit in four consecutive games dating back to July 13, Kurtz joined some elite company. He became the first A’s player to accomplish that feat since Lawrence Butler did so from July 14-21 of last season. Among players aged 22 or younger, Kurtz is only the third player in A’s history to achieve the feat, joining Jose Canseco (June 24-28, 1987) and Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (July 26-29, 1928).
“I didn’t know that,” Kurtz said. “That’s pretty cool to be part of the group with those two guys. It felt great to put on a good show over the weekend.”
Among all MLB players under the age of 23, Kurtz became the first player with multiple doubles and at least one RBI in consecutive games since Elly De La Cruz, who did it last season from Aug. 5-6. Before Kurtz and De La Cruz, the only other under-23 players to accomplish the feat since 2000 were Gordon Beckham in 2009 with the White Sox and Miguel Cabrera with the Marlins in 2005.
“Really impressive week,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Kurtz, referencing his opposite-field homer against Cleveland on Saturday. “The other day, he had a 3-0 green light and didn’t swing at the fastball. He hit the cutter out to left field. There’s only a few guys in the game that can hit oppo homers and know, when you got it, you got it, which he did. It’s like Barry Bonds and Jim Thome and a couple of Hall of Famers.”
Wilson embraces budding competition with Kurtz, while also pointing out that they are only two members of a talented young core forming at the Major League level that has the A’s excited about the direction they are heading in as a team. That group also includes Butler, Denzel Clarke, Tyler Soderstrom, Shea Langeliers and Max Muncy.
If Wilson and Kurtz were to finish 1 and 2 in Rookie of the Year voting in either order, they would become just the ninth set of teammates to do so and the first in the AL since 1984 Mariners teammates Alvin Davis and Mark Langston.
“It’s fun,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of young guys here who are very talented. Obviously, [Kurtz] is doing what he’s doing. But you have a bunch of young guys up here who are only 25 years old or younger. We have a great, young core here. The future is bright for us, and we’re enjoying it every step of the way. Hopefully, we get to play with each other for a long time.”
