Kurtz's Power Surge: A's First Baseman Primed for MVP Run

0:00On April 23rd, Nick Kurtz is turning heads with the Oakland Athletics. On Wednesday in Seattle, the first baseman smashed a game tying home run in the top of the ninth, nearly helping his squad sweep the Mariners, who lead the AL West. They fell short in the bottom half, but the A's grabbed two of three. He's on fire lately, blasting three homers in his last five games for four on the year. At a 13-game walk streak, and his on-base percentage sits at 0.427, 4th best in baseball, even with a 0.241 average. Fans and scouts remember his rookie year. He hit 0.290, with 36 homers, and an OPS over 1.0000, matching MVP's. Like Aaron Judge and Shohei Oltani. That power defined him across 117 games. This season's underlying stats mirror last year's elite marks, with average exit velocity in the 100th percentile, and most categories over the 90th. He's boosted defense too, ranking 88th percentile and out above average, and crushing lefties

1:05better than before. Kurtz looks prime for another monster run, as weather heats up, and Sacramento's hitter-friendly part calls. Keep watching this rookie of the year contender, climb MVP boards. You've been listening to MLB News today, AI-powered baseball coverage.