Minor League Baseball

Top Athletics Prospect Sits Atop Prestigious List to Start Season, and Social Media Takes Note

Nick Kurtz has a minor league-leading six home runs in the early going of the season.
Jami Leabow|
Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz (8) at bat against Florida State in the second inning during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field on May 25, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C.
Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz (8) at bat against Florida State in the second inning during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field on May 25, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

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Oakland Athletics

Nick Kurtz – and undoubtedly his closest friends and family members – will want to take a screenshot of Minor League Baseball’s post on X on Wednesday and save it forever.

Because on this day – April 9, 2025 – it showed Kurtz was in some good company.

The top prospect in the Athletics’ farm system, Kurtz hit his sixth home run of the season for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. As the MiLB social media post showed, he was tied with Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Tyler Soderstrom of the A’s for most home runs by MLB/MiLB players.

Anytime you can sit atop a power list with Aaron Judge, who set the record for most home runs in a season in the American League with 62 in 2022, that’s a good thing.

Kurtz, 22, was selected by the Athletics with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest. The 6-foot-5 first baseman has 22 total minor league games to his credit with 10 homers, 30 RBIs, a batting average of .378 and an OPS of 1.315.

He has played just 10 games with Las Vegas and has six home runs and 17 RBIs with a .386 batting average.

His home run on Wednesday came in the third inning of the Aviators' 6-4 win in El Paso, Texas, against the Triple-A Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres). He blasted the 2-1 slider from right-hander Ryan Bergert 455 feet with an exit velocity of 110.5 mph to give the Aviators a 4-0 lead.

Earlier this week, Baseball America recognized the sizzling start by Kurtz, naming him the hottest prospect of the first week of the minor league season. This is what the publication had to say about him.

“Kurtz starting the season in Triple-A after just 12 games last year across Low-A and Double-A stood out. However, 2024’s No. 4 overall pick showed he’s right where he belongs. The 22-year-old’s calling card is his power, which he displayed by homering four times, with all of his long balls going for at least 400 feet. Kurtz was also just a triple shy of the cycle in the second game of the season. The Wake Forest product displayed the ability to spray the ball around the field and had a solid defensive showing. Coming out of spring training, Kurtz was heralded as one of the top performers on the Cactus League side by many scouts. So, his fast start isn’t surprising, but it’s still very impressive. He might swing his way into majors sooner rather than later at this pace.”

The decision makers of the Athletics undoubtedly are watching.

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Jami Leabow
JAMI LEABOW

Jami Leabow is the managing editor of Minor League Baseball on SI. Her love for the game began when her parents bought season tickets to the then-California Angels.

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