Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Reaches base four times Sunday
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-3 with an RBI double, a run scored and two walks in Sunday's 13-8 loss against the Yankees.
Kurtz was unable to extend his home-run streak to three games, but he reached base in four of five plate appearances, highlighted by an RBI double in the eighth inning. The first baseman will close May with a .333/.456/.569 slash line, 13 extra-base hits (five homers), 26 RBI, 21 runs and three stolen bases across 28 games. His .939 OPS through 58 total games ranks fifth among qualified MLB hitters.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Homers again Saturday
Rotowire
Kurtz went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Yankees.
Kurtz is rebounding after a brief rough patch earlier in the week when he went 0-for-11 across three games versus the Mariners. He's now cranked a homer in consecutive contests against the Yankees, giving him 10 long balls on the year. Overall this season, the first baseman is batting .283 with a .925 OPS, 40 RBI, 38 runs scored, 11 doubles, one triple and six stolen bases across 57 games.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Lifts solo shot
Rotowire
Kurtz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-2 loss to the Yankees.
Kurtz had gone 12 contests without a homer and three games without a hit entering Friday. He ended both droughts with a long ball in the first inning off Carlos Rodon, though that was only to cut the Athletics' deficit to 4-1 after a rough first inning saw A's starting pitcher Luis Severino (arm) leave the game. Kurtz hasn't displayed as much power early this year as he did in 2025, but when he has, he's done it in bunches. The first baseman is batting .274 with a .900 OPS, 38 RBI, 36 runs scored, six stolen bases, nine homers, 11 doubles and a triple over 56 games.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Plates five runs in rout
Rotowire
Kurtz went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, five RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 14-6 victory versus the Angels.
Kurtz plated the first run of the game with a single in the third inning. He added a two-run single in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth. The five RBI were a season high for Kurtz and marked the second-highest total of his career, behind the eight runs he drove in during his historic four-homer performance last July. He's been hot in May, batting .328 with three homers, 13 runs, 19 RBI and three stolen bases through 17 contests.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Homers in third straight game
Rotowire
Kurtz went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a hit-by-pitch in Friday's 5-2 win over the Giants.
Kurtz went deep in the fifth inning to give the Athletics the lead for good. The first baseman's power has turned back on -- this was his third straight game with a homer after going 15 contests without one. He's up to eight long balls, 29 RBI, 28 runs scored, five stolen bases, eight doubles and a triple while batting .276 with a .923 OPS over 43 games this season. He'll continue to be a swing-and-miss risk with a 29.8 percent strikeout rate, but the power potential makes up for it.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Mashes seventh homer Thursday
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals.
After going 15 games without leaving the yard, Kurtz lifted his second homer in as many days by leading off the bottom of the first inning with a 442-foot solo shot off Michael McGreevy. The young first baseman continues to flash the same elite bat he showed during his 2025 stint, as over his last 25 games Kurtz is batting 31-for-94 (.330) with a 1.025 OPS. On the year he's now slashing .275/.428/.477 with seven homers, eight doubles, 26 RBI, 27 runs scored and five stolen bases across 194 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Launches grand slam in win
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a grand slam, a double and a second run scored in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Cardinals.
Kurtz had been a bit quiet on the power front, going 15 games without a homer despite batting .271 (16-for-59) in that stretch. He ended the drought in a big way Wednesday, taking Matthew Liberatore deep in the fifth inning to give the Athletics all the offense they needed to win. Kurtz is batting .267 with an .871 OPS, six homers, 25 RBI, 26 runs scored, five stolen bases, eight doubles and one triple over 41 contests this season. He hasn't come close to his pace from last year -- 36 homers in 117 games -- but there's still plenty of upside in the 23-year-old's bat.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Extends on-base streak to 30 games
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base and a walk in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to Philadelphia.
Kurtz continued his on-base tear, tallying a pair of singles and drawing a walk to extend his on-base streak to 30 games. He also drew his 35th walk of the campaign, trailing only Mike Trout (36) for the MLB lead. Not known for his speed, Kurtz also swiped his fourth bag of the season, already doubling his total from 2025. The power numbers haven't been overwhelming, but the 23-year-old's ability to consistently reach base has fueled a solid start to 2026, as he's slashing .252/.414/.409 with five homers, five doubles, 17 RBI and 19 runs across 35 contests.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Goes deep in loss
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and a walk in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Mariners.
Kurtz delivered a clutch solo blast off Andres Munoz in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game, though the Mariners responded with a Josh Naylor walk-off in the bottom half. After a relatively slow start to the year, Kurtz is finding his footing, slashing .375/.559/.792 with three homers, eight RBI and six runs over the past seven games. His season OPS now sits at .849 through 24 contests as the 23-year-old looks to follow up a tremendous rookie campaign with a strong sophomore season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Racks up season-high three RBI
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and a walk in Thursday's 9-6 loss to Texas.
The 23-year-old slugger collected a season-high three RBI on Thursday, also posting his fourth multi-hit effort of the year. Although Kurtz mashed right-handed pitching to the tune of a 1.153 OPS a year ago, he's off to a sluggish start versus right-handers in 2026. He has a .650 OPS through 42 at-bats against righties so far, though Kurtz did enter Wednesday with an elite 58.6 percent hard-hit rate overall and should find his power stroke soon enough.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Reaches base five times, swipes bag
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a double, three walks, one run scored and a stolen base in Sunday's 12-10 win over the Astros.
Kurtz entered play Sunday in a 2-for-24 slump with a 6:13 BB:K to begin the season. Kurtz walked in the first, singled and stole his second base in the third, walked and scored in the fifth, hit a ground-rule double in the sixth for his first extra-base hit of the season and walked again in the seventh. Perhaps it will help propel Kurtz into a hot streak at the plate. He's now slashing .148/.361/.185 across 36 plate appearances and is still looking for his first home run and RBI of the season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: First day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Kurtz is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.
Kurtz will receive his first day off of the season after going 1-for-17 with 11 strikeouts through five games. Andy Ibanez will get a start at first base and bat second as the Athletics take on lefty ace Chris Sale at Truist Park.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Caps off season with 36th homer
Rotowire
Kurtz went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 9-2 loss against the Royals.
The rookie slugger provided Oakland's only offense of the night with a 423-foot blast off Sam Long in the eighth inning, marking his 36th homer of the season and his seventh since September 10. Over that span, he hit .233 with 13 RBI while continuing to show his game-changing power. Kurtz looks like the clear favorite for AL Rookie of the Year honors, as he'll finish the regular season with an impressive .290/.383/.619 slash line, 26 doubles, 86 RBI and 90 runs scored to go along with his outstanding long-ball total across 488 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Slogs two homers vs. Astros
Rotowire
Kurtz went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI during the Athletics' 11-5 loss to the Astros.
The Athletics trailed by as many as 10 runs in Thursday's contest, but Kurtz gave the home fans something to cheer for with a solo homer in the sixth inning and a two-run shot in the eighth. It was Kurtz's third multi-homer game of the season, and his 35 long balls lead all rookies and rank 12th in the majors. He has a 1.010 OPS in 477 plate appearances this season, which ranks second in the majors behind Aaron Judge (1.140) among players with at least 450 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Mashes 33rd homer
Rotowire
Kurtz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-3 win over the Pirates.
The rookie slugger took Mitch Keller deep in the fourth inning to kick off a rally from an early 3-0 deficit. Kurtz is up to 33 homers on the season, tying him with Jose Canseco for the second-most in franchise history by a rookie behind Mark McGwire's legendary 1987 season, when he set a then-MLB record with 49. Like those two former A's stars, Kurtz seems like a lock for the AL Rookie of the Year Award given his .293/.387/.620 slash line through his first 109 games.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Mammoth slam in win
Rotowire
Kurtz went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in Saturday's 11-5 win over the Reds.
Kurtz launched a 493-foot slam -- the longest homer in the majors this year -- in the eighth inning, giving the Athletics plenty of breathing room after a quiet first four plate appearances. He's popped five homers over his last 14 games, adding 10 RBI and 13 runs scored in that span. The rookie first baseman is up to 31 long balls, 78 RBI, 78 runs scored, two stolen bases, 24 doubles and two triples while maintaining a .298/.391/.622 slash line across 104 contests.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Up to 30 homers
Rotowire
Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
Kurtz put the A's ahead 2-1 in the second inning with an opposite-field shot off Payton Tolle, his 30th homer of the season and third in his last seven games. The rookie first baseman is batting .302 with a 1.023 OPS -- tops among all rookies -- 77 runs scored and 74 RBI across 426 plate appearances this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Back in action Tuesday
Rotowire
Kurtz (oblique) is starting at first base and batting leadoff Tuesday against the Cardinals.
The rookie first baseman is back in the lineup Tuesday after missing the previous three games due to oblique discomfort. Kurtz will attempt to get back on track after going 4-for-20 with five walks, a homer, five runs and nine strikeouts in the nine games preceding the injury.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Absence continuing Sunday
Rotowire
Kurtz (oblique) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.
The 22-year-old had an MRI come back clean Saturday, but he'll still be held out of the lineup for a second consecutive game. Manager Mark Kotsay indicated Saturday that Kurtz should be back soon but didn't provide a target date. Tyler Soderstrom is filling it at first base, with Carlos Cortes starting in left field.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Gets promising results from MRI
Rotowire
Kurtz's MRI on his oblique revealed that he does not have a strain, and manager Mark Kotsay said he's hopeful the first baseman will be back playing "sooner than later," Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
This should provide a big sigh of relief for both the A's and fantasy managers who roster Kurtz, as an oblique strain would have likely resulted in a stint on the IL. Instead, Kurtz should be considered day-to-day, though he's not in the lineup Saturday versus Texas. Tyler Soderstrom will likely hold down the fort at first base until Kurtz is ready to return to action.
