Stockton's Kurtz continues first-week power surge

Nick Kurtz tormented college pitchers earlier this year. As it turns out, California League pitching can’t evade the A’s 2024 first-round Draft pick’s 65-grade power either.

Oakland’s newly minted No. 2 prospect hasn’t shown any signs of cooling off. The Wake Forest product smashed a three-run homer in Saturday’s 11-1 win over the San Jose Giants at Excite Ballpark. Kurtz went down in the zone, swung it cleanly and admired the ball as it traveled through the twilight sky into the heart of Silicon Valley, giving him his fourth roundtripper in his sixth game played with the Single-A Stockton Ports.

“It's all just about getting hot at the right time,” Kurtz said. “Baseball is such a game of streaks and ups and downs. I had a great couple of weeks in Arizona and saw a lot of pitches preparing for coming here to Stockton. Baseball is all about timing.”

Kurtz’s professional career has started with a slash line of .409/.567/1.000. The A’s were impressed by the power the left-handed hitter produced to all parts of the field, but his discipline at the plate made him stand out.

In six games, he’s only struck out six times and has drawn eight walks, including a bases-loaded free pass in Saturday’s game which gave him a four-RBI performance. Kurtz has a hit in every game of his professional career. People within the organization compare him to Matt Olson, who was once crushing home runs into McLeod Lake behind Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton.

“He's one of the best first basemen in the league,” Kurtz said. “He swings at the right pitch. He's got good plate discipline and power in all fields. I'm similar to him in that way, but he's been doing it for a long time, and it’s a very low sample size for me. So I want to keep working to get like him.”

Kurtz's rise, which culminated in him becoming one of the nation's most-feared college hitters is even more impressive when considering that the Demon Deacons originally recruited him as a pitcher. He had a run of 14 homers in 10 games from March 31 through April 16, with the highlight being a three-homer performance against Virginia.

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The Lancaster, Penn., native noted that the biggest difference between college and Single-A pitching has been the faster speed and more movement with each pitch. The new challenge has pushed Kurtz toward breakout performances, while taking in every successful game because he knows that this game can be cruel at times.

“Baseball is hard,” Kurtz said. “There's a lot of different things that happen in baseball. It's not always going to go your way, and when it does go your way, take advantage of it and enjoy it; and if you’re at a low point, you got to battle and work your way back out of it.”

He isn’t the only member of this year’s A’s Draft class enjoying success early on. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (third round, No. 13 prospect) Rodney Green (fourth round, No. 22), Tommy White (second round, No. 4) and Kurtz made up the Ports one-through-four order in the lineup. The quartet combined for 10 hits, with Green having a breakthrough performance where he also hit his first professional homer, a three-run shot to center field.

“After three years in college, you know what good chemistry is and what's going to make a good team,” Kurtz said. “We have all these aspects and are able to have fun together every day and we enjoy each other's company.”