Let the Braves Matt Olson and A's Nick Kurtz Comparisons Begin

Both slugging first basemen began their careers with the Athletics, and are off to eerily similar starts to their big-league careers. Who holds the edge?

Jul 26, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) stands on deck during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

When the Athletics selected first baseman Nick Kurtz out of Wake Forest with the fourth pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, A's scouting director Eric Kubota told members of the media he reminded them of a young Matt Olson. While he is with the Atlanta Braves these days after a 2022 trade that netted the A's Shea Langeliers and Joey Estes, he spent the first six years of his career in Oakland.

When he debuted with the A's in 2016, he actually spent more time in right field for the club than he did at first base over a limited sample. When Kurtz arrived, the club just moved former first rounder Tyler Soderstrom to left field, clearing the way for "The Big Amish."

Olson wouldn't play his first full season with the club until 2018, at the age of 24, and after two stints with the A's beforehand. He'd had a chance to see what the big deal was in the big leagues and make some adjustments along the way. Kurtz's only time off has come when he's been briefly injured.

Still, we now know how each batter has fared through their first 67 games in the big leagues, and the similarities are striking.

A’s scouting director Eric Kubota on Draft night about Nick Kurtz: “In a lot of ways, he reminds us of Matt Olson.”

Nick Kurtz’s first 67 MLB games: 23 HR, 43 XBH, 59 RBI, 1.061 OPS, 55% hard-hit %

Matt Olson’s first 67 MLB games: 23 HR, 49 XBH, 43 RBI, .960 OPS, 52.1% hard-hit…

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) July 28, 2025

Martín Gallegos posted the comparison. Nick Kurtz: first 67 MLB games, 23 home runs, 43 extra-base hits, 59 RBI, 1.061 OPS, 55% hard hit%. Matt Olson: first 67 MLB games: 23 home runs, 49 extra-base hits, 43 RBI, .960 OPS, 52.1% hard hit%.

The big difference between the two is that Kurtz has 16 more RBI in his time in the Majors, and while you may think that the A's offense wasn't as good in 2017 as it is this season, that would be incorrect. The team ranked No. 5 in wRC+ that year, where most of Olson's playing time came from, with a 103. The A's offense as a whole this season ranks 12th, but they have the same 103 wRC+.

While Kurtz is striking out a little more (31.2% to 27.8%), he's also been the better hitter overall, posting a 184 wRC+ compared to Olson's 164 in 2017. Kurtz is also hitting .309 with a .378 OBP compared to Olson's .259 with a .352.

Obviously these are two terrific first basemen at the beginning of their careers that we're comparing, and both just happened to start off with the A's. That means that to a degree, they'll end up being linked to one another, especially since the A's traded Olson away. Fans will want to make sure that they can look ahead to the future instead of wondering what might have been.

One more note that could put this debate in Kurtz's favor is that he is still just 22 years old, and hasn't had the amount of time in the minor leagues that Olson had to prepare. For him to be excelling at this level the way he is, despite only playing in 33 minor-league games before getting the call up the 26-man roster, is part of what makes his breakout so impressive.

While Olson always felt like one of the best players on the A's when he came up, and had the entire fanbase rallying around him with his sweet swing, Kurtz's four-homer performance over the weekend has given him national appeal that typically eluded Olson in his time in the green and gold. As Kurtz continues to develop, he could enter the conversation as the best first baseman in the game--potentially as early as next season.