Projecting the A's Opening Day Starting Lineup

Yes, Nick Kurtz is likely to lead off

Sep 21, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) hits a single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

One of the biggest questions all spring has been whether or not the A's will actually be batting Nick Kurtz in the leadoff position when the season begins. It's where he spent a lot of time in the second half of last year, and was also one of the best hitters in baseball in the process.

If we're using this spring as an indicator, it would be pretty surprising if Kurtz isn't batting first on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 21 spring games, he led off 16 times, and hit second the other five. That's 76.2% of the time that he was at the top of the lineup card, which seems like a clear indicator that he'll be there again to begin the campaign.

Behind Kurtz is where things could get interesting.

Predicting the A's lineup on Opening Day

A slew of players hit second this spring, and funnily enough, Kurtz had the second-most appearances in the two-hole this spring as well. The player with the most was Shea Langeliers, who tallied 14 starts batting second.

With the A's likely to go with a lefty-righty-lefty lineup for as long as they can make it work with their projected starters, here is how the rest of the lineup should look.

1st — Nick Kurtz, (L) (1B)

2nd — Shea Langeliers (C)

3rd — Tyler Soderstrom, (L) (LF)

4th — Brent Rooker (DH)

5th —Jeff McNeil, (L) (2B)

6th — Jacob Wilson (SS)

7th — Lawrence Butler, (L) (RF)

8th — Max Muncy (3B)

9th — Denzel Clarke (CF)

The top four you can mark down with a good bit of confidence in that order. The tricky spot is when it gets to Wilson and McNeil. Mark Kotsay could decide to flip those two and bat Wilson fifth and McNeil sixth, which would shuffle the bottom of the order as well, or he could choose to separate them entirely.

If he flipped them, batting Rooker and Wilson back-to-back, then McNeil would be hitting sixth, and Butler would likely slide down one spot to avoid having two left-handers back-to-back. That would mean moving up Muncy to the seventh spot, so it would go Muncy-Butler-Clarke to round out the lineup.

Keeping Wilson and McNeil back-to-back right after that top four batters would be an interesting way to go about constructing the lineup, however. After facing the A's best bats, an opposing pitcher would then have to face two contact- heavy hitters that can just spoil pitch after pitch.

By the time the pitcher gets to the seventh spot in the order, they could be tired of facing these guys in the green and gold. This lineup is going to give pitchers nightmares this season, and has been getting plenty of praise as the season draws closer.

Of course, when the A's face a left-handed starting pitcher we could end up seeing a different lineup—perhaps with Langeliers at the top. But for the most part, this group should stay in a similar order when they're all on the field.

Now, if Clarke, Muncy or Butler starts hitting the ball well, then the A's may start moving some pieces (namely McNeil and Wilson) around. This would hold especially true if Butler is the one on a hot streak, as we saw him at the top of the order at the end of the 2024 campaign when he was hot, and again to begin the 2025 campaign. He also offers a speed component, which would be useful at the top.

But on Friday, it'll be Kurtz at the top of the lineup, setting the table against Kevin Gausman and the Jays.

For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!