A's No. 1 Prospect Scores Game-Winning Run in First Multi-Hit Effort

Athletics No. 1 prospect Nick Kurtz has been quietly hitting in his brief time in the big leagues. Of his 11 games played with the A's, Kurtz has collected a hit in nine of them, and on Sunday against the Miami Marlins his first multi-hit effort came at a crucial moment for his team.

Having already singled in the fourth inning, Kurtz came up to bat in the top of the ninth with one away and the score tied 2-2. With an 0-1 count, the first baseman sliced a slider the other way down into the corner, and he turned on the jets, making it all the way to third. It was not only the first triple of his career, but also the first extra-base hit.

A's manager Mark Kotsay would go to his bench, where Tyler Soderstrom was getting a day of rest, and the new left fielder would drive Kurtz home on a single to center, putting the A's up 3-2. They would win by that score after Tyler Ferguson worked a one-two-three ninth that included a strikeout of Saturday's hero, Kyle Stowers, to end the game.

Just a bunch of silly dudes 🤪 pic.twitter.com/ZDLskmIYDe
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After his first few series, Kurtz is batting .278 with a .300 OBP, five RBI, and now one (game-winning) run scored. While he hasn't taken the league fully by storm with an OPS of .633, the fact that he's hitting enough should be a pretty good sign for the near future.

The one worrisome stat is that he has struck out 18 times in 40 plate appearances, which is a rate of 45%. That's certainly not sustainable. He's also walked just twice in that span. The A's have touted his approach at the plate being advanced, and he's showing that by holding his own in the big leagues, but is also showing that there is room for growth moving forward.

In the small sample size of data that we have, he has a lightning quick bat and he's making hard contact (91.9 mph average exit velocity), but he's swinging and missing at a 44.6% clip while chasing (26.7%) a bit too.

Kurtz has shown that he doesn't have much left to prove in the minor leagues, blazing his path to The Show in 32 minor-league games. With the A's hoping to sneak up on some people this season, it will be interesting if they continue to let him figure things out, or if they decide to move Soderstrom back to first base while Kurtz gets a short reset in the minor leagues.

The determining factors could be how well the A's view Soderstrom's defensive abilities in left field, and whether or not the team keeps on winning. If the A's go a little cold, then maybe a move could happen. But if they just keep racking up wins (the A's are 9-3 since his arrival), then it's probably best not to try and fix something that isn't broken.

If he's after one of those long-term contracts the A's have been handing out, then getting a couple of hits off of Wendesday's probable starter for the Mariners, Bryan Woo, would be a good negotiating point for him. Woo is 6-0 with a 0.72 ERA in seven starts against the Athletics.

Seattle is set to visit West Sacramento from Monday through Wednesday this week in a battle of the top two teams in the AL West.