Nicholas

Kurtz

Sherman received “no word on the likelihood of getting it to the finish line” from his sources, but this fits the A’s pattern of locking up their pre-arbitration players to long-term contracts. Kurtz slashed a sublime .290/.383/.619 in 489 plate appearances last year and is one of the first fantasy first basemen off the board in all formats this year. It would probably take a pretty hefty offer to get Kurtz to sign a long-term extension after that sort of powerhouse season.

Kurtz received all 30 first-place votes to become the 28th unanimous Rookie of the Year winner. His teammate Jacob Wilson finished second, while Roman Anthony placed third, with Noah Cameron and Colson Montgomery also receiving second-place votes in AL ROY balloting. The 22-year-old burgeoning superstar delivered one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in recent memory, slashing .290/.383/.618 with 64 extra-base hits — including 36 homers — and 86 RBI over 117 games. He seems destined to be one of the more polarizing fantasy sluggers next spring, but there’s a strong case for including him in the first-round conversation.

Judge takes home a silver slugger for the fifth time in his career. He joins Byron Buxton and Riley Greene in the outfield in taking home the award. The full list of winners: Cal Raleigh (C), Nick Kurtz (1B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), José Ramírez (3B), Judge (OF), Buxton (OF) and Greene (OF) and George Springer (DH).

Kurtz is the slam-dunk favorite after delivering one of the most transcendent rookie seasons in recent memory, slashing .290/.383/.618 with 64 extra-base hits — including 36 homers — and 86 RBI in just 117 games. Anthony might have made things interesting had the Red Sox called him up before early June. The 21-year-old phenom immediately became their top-of-the-order catalyst, slashing .292/.396/.463 with eight homers and 32 RBI in 71 games before an oblique injury ended his season in early September. Wilson looked like the early-season frontrunner before a fractured left forearm in late July cost him nearly a month and derailed his second half. The fact that two Athletics cracked the final three in balloting says plenty about the direction of the franchise. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 10.

Kurtz came into the day with a 1.000 OPS that fell to .991 after he opened up 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. However, with the late homer off Sam Long, he became the eighth rookie in AL/NL history, joining George Watkins (1930), Rudy York (1937), Ted Williams (1939), Bernie Carbo (1970), Albert Pujols (2001), Ryan Braun (2007) and Aaron Judge (2017), to finish with a 1.000 or better OPS in at least 400 plate apperances. Yordan Alvarez would also sneak in if we lowered the threshold some; he finished at 1.067 in 369 PA in 2019.

Kurtz got the A’s on the board in the sixth inning of this one with a 393-foot (102.2 mph EV) solo shot off of Framber Valdez, pulling his squad to within eight runs at 9-1. He then clobbered a 389-foot (105.0 mph EV) two-run blast off of Enyel De Los Santos in the eighth inning for good measure. He’s not just a lock to take home American League Rookie of the Year honors, he’s having the best offensive season of any first baseman in Major League Baseball and should also receive some down-ballot MVP votes. He’s slashing a robust .293/.387/.623 with 35 homers and 84 RBI in just 477 plate appearances. He’s also tied for the MLB lead with 18 opposite-field home runs on the season. An unbelievable debut campaign for the 22-year-old slugger.

The A’s dropped Kurtz to sixth in the lineup last time they faced a lefty, but they decided that wasn’t necessary against Nick Lodolo today. Kurtz faced Lodolo three times and hit flyballs 99.9, 102.6 and 100.5 mph. The first two wound up as outs, but the last one exited to left-center at 379 feet.

Kurtz ostensibly put the game away with the A’s up two runs in the eighth. It was his second career slam and easily his longest distance yet; he previously topped out at 447 feet. It left the bat at 114.6 mph, which is also a new high for the 22-year-old rising star. The AL Rookie of the Year front-runner is up to 31 homers and 78 RBI through 104 career games.

He joins Mark McGwire (49 in 1987) and Jose Canseco (33 in 1986) as rookies to hit 30 homers for the A’s. Kurtz’s homer off a Payton Tolle fastball was his 14th to go to the opposite field, which is pretty amazing. He’s pulled just six of the 30. The A’s dropped Kurtz to sixth in the lineup today while facing a left-hander for the fifth straight game. He’ll be back in the top three on Friday with the A’s due to face Reds righty Brady Singer.

Kurtz may be the first hitter ever to blast a 447-foot moonshot off a 95.6 mph fastball and also whiff on a 32.5 mph eephus from a position player in the same game — a bizarre duality that feels less like baseball and more like performance art. The 22-year-old rookie sensation launched his second homer in four games by taking Angels reliever Chase Silseth deep in the fourth, continuing to operate as the improbable engine of the upstart Athletics. He also walked twice and scored three times in the one-sided blowout. The AL Rookie of the Year front-runner is now slashing .305/.402/.635 with 75 runs scored, 29 homers, 73 RBI and two steals through 98 games. Unreal.