A's Mailbag: Kurtz Batting Leadoff, Where De Vries Fits and Plenty More!
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With the regular season getting closer and closer, we should probably announce that we're going to bring back mailbag columns for this season so that we can answer the questions that are most on your mind throughout the year. If you have a question for the mailbag, all you have to do is send it in when I drop this tweet! You can also just send in questions at any time.
Doing an A’s mailbag for the first time in a bit, so let me know what questions you have about this team!
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) March 10, 2026
There were a number of terrific questions, like this one from Will, who asked which prospect the A's think will reach the big leagues first, and their thoughts on Steven Echavarria and Cole Miller. That is one I'll have to ask around about, but I'll get an answer!
For others, like 'will Tyler Soderstrom see time behind the plate in 2026?', I can rely more on previous conversations and interviews and say pretty confidently that I do not believe that will be the case. There was some talk about potentially moving him to third base over the course of the 2025 campaign, but at the end of the year the club seemed very happy with how he performed in left field.
He was a Gold Glove finalist after all! They did joke at his extension press conference that they were going to ask him to switch positions again, but that was all in good fun.
Now, without further delay, here is the return of the A's mailbag from Athletics On SI!
Is Nick Kurtz really going to bat first?
This one comes from Jake Gifford on X. We did a piece on the pros and cons of batting Kurtz leadoff, and in the process of researching we decided that we didn't like the idea of having your best power bat leading off, much like the fan base.
That said, the A's seem to like the idea plenty based off of how their roster is constructed. Manager Mark Kotsay said last week, "The way our first five hitters performed last season, we all know that we don't steal bases. Nick is both someone that has an on-base percentage and a slugging to sit at the top of the order and provide both. There's value to that."
While that's true, there are two players that could change that calculus a little bit. One is newcomer Jeff McNeil, who is a contact hitter like Jacob Wilson, but he will also walk a decent amount. That said, he's also not the fastest guy, either.
The other option would be a resurgent Lawrence Butler, but that would take two things: One, a resurgence, and two for him to be on the field.
Should we be worried about Lawrence Butler?
We have yet to see Lawrence Butler in a game this spring, and with Opening Day in just over two weeks, the concern here is that he wouldn't have enough time to ramp up to be ready for the season. The expectation at the beginning of camp was that he would be returning to game action around mid-spring, and we're right at that point now.
If he's not on the field in the next couple of days, then it's fair to be concerned about his status for the first week or two of the season. That would lead to him starting on the IL and then ramping up with the Las Vegas Aviators for a brief period.
At the same time, we don't know how much work he's been getting in on the minor-league side of camp, so he could be further along than we know at the moment. Kotsay had mentioned keeping him in a controlled environment being helpful for his rehab and not wanting to push him too quickly at the risk of setting him back longer into the season.
We'd have to lean towards him not being ready for the start of the season at the moment based off of the information on hand, but with the expectation that he wouldn't miss too much of the first month, either. Thank you to The Best Gomez for the question!
Where does Leo De Vries play when he arrives in Sacramento?
John English more specifically asked who will end up playing shortstop if De Vries makes it to Sacramento this year, and who would end up moving.
This one is all speculation because this is the type of question that we could ask Mark Kotsay or David Forst and we would 100% get a "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" response. It's a fair response, because the makeup of the roster will change. Perhaps there's an injury that pushes him up, or someone is underperforming and you need to make a change.
You don't want to cause unecessary turmoil in the clubhouse for what could happen in the future.
If we had to guess, however, Wilson at 6-foot-2 would be the one to move. Our best guess would be to third base, where his height could be utilized a little better. He has an 80th percentile arm, so he can make the throws from the hot corner.
The bigger reason here is that when the A's call up De Vries, they'll want him to be up for good. The best way to do that is to keep him at his natural position of shortstop so that he has to focus on one less adjustment while still trying to have success in the big leagues at 19 years old.
If this all happens and the alignment feels off, then the A's could look to make an adjustment in the offseason to give everyone more time to feel comfortable in their spots.
What's the floor and ceiling for this team?
The floor is zero wins and the ceiling is 162.
Sorry, Big Dog, I had to. The floor of this club is likely around 70 wins. They have the bats to compete with pretty much any club, but how high their ceiling ends up being will depend on their pitching staff. We like what Luis Severino has shown us so far, and J.T. Ginn has stood out in camp as well. If they end up being a league average staff on the whole, then watch out.
We're a little worried about the bullpen since they don't have an arm that has historically shut down left-handed bats on the staff. That could end up being a big weakness for that group. The rotation has plenty of interesting pieces, but the season will rely upon how well they all come together.
Two lesser concerns are Jacob Wilson's offensive profile and whether he was aided by BABIP last season, or if he's legitimately a batting title contender every season. Nick Kurtz also struggled mightily against left-handed pitching last year, and he'll need to hit better than Anthony Volpe versus southpaws in 2026 to take a step forward.
If they take steps back, then there are some worries with this club, but it's the same for any young baseball team. Until there are proven pieces, everything is unknown. Their ceiling is likely around 88 wins if things break correctly.
When do you see Jamie Arnold and Gage Jump in the Majors?
We're going to wrap up this mailbag with this question from Tim Brady.
Given that Arnold hasn't pitched in the pros yet, we're going to say that if he makes it to the big leagues this season, it would be in September. If the A's are in the postseason hunt, perhaps he's a bullpen ace for them down the stretch. You also have to remember that pitchers take a little longer to develop because they have to build up the workload of a full professional season, too.
Last year after dominating for the first few months with zero restrictions, the A's began limiting the workload of Gage Jump because he was too effective and pitching too deep into games. That's an exaggeration, but his innings total was on a sprint in the beginning of the season, and then had to be slowed down so that he'd pitch the whole year.
Jump is a guy that could get to the big leagues like Mason Miller back in 2023. He made one start in Midland, getting his feet wet, then was promoted to Las Vegas, where he threw five innings of scoreless, no-hit ball, striking out 11. He was called up to Oakland in mid-April after the front office deemed that he had nothing left to prove in the minors.
We all know Jump is close to the big leagues, but his timeline will ultimately be determined by how well he performs in Vegas out of the gate. Could be April, or could be June, but the first half of the season feels likely.
For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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