A's slugger Nick Kurtz wins AL Rookie of the Year award

Chris Biderman, The Sacramento Bee on Nov 10, 2025

Published in Baseball

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nick Kurtz is earning hardware for his impressive rookie campaign with the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.

The 22-year-old domineering first baseman on Monday was named the American League Rookie of the Year for 2025 after clubbing 36 home runs with 86 RBI while batting .290/.383/.619. Kurtz won the award unanimously with 30 first-place votes, becoming the 14th player in AL history to do so.

He also was recognized Nov. 7 as the best hitting first baseman in baseball when MLB managers and coaches voted him to the Silver Slugger Award for the position after leading AL first baseman in home runs and OPS (1.002), ranking second in extra base hits (64) and runs scored (90).

He was the first rookie to win a Silver Slugger since José Abreu in 2014. His 36 homers this year were the second most in a season for an A’s rookie behind Mark McGwire’s 49 in 1987.

His season was highlighted with one of the best single-game performances of all-time when he went 6 for 6 with four home runs in a 15-3 win over the Houston Astros July 25. He became the first rookie to ever hit four homers in a game and matched the Major League record with 19 total bases in one contest.

Kurtz made his debut in the majors less than a year after he was drafted fourth overall in the 2024 amateur draft out of Wake Forest. He appeared in just 33 minor league games before getting the call to West Sacramento where uncharacteristically it took him 17 games to hit his first home run. Still, Kurtz appeared in 117 games as a rookie meaning his home run total would have paced out to 50 over a full 162-game slate.

“You never know what it’s going to be like when you get to the big leagues,” Kurtz said during a Zoom press conference after the award was announced Monday. “All you hear about is the biggest jump is from Triple-A to the Major Leagues (and) I started off a little slow. It’s just part of it. Baseball is a game of confidence. It comes and goes, you get hot and cold and the person who stays confident the most is the guy that succeeds the most.

“So I think as next year rolls around, (my confidence) will be a little bit more than last year, and hopefully we can build off that.”

Kurtz said he was vacationing in Hawaii and celebrating teammate Tyler Soderstrom’s wedding when the award was announced. Which was fitting given how Kurtz relied on his teammates to help him through his first stint in the majors.

“Brent (Rooker) and Shea (Langeliers) told me every day early on that it’s not easy, just relax,” Kurtz said. “You’re gonna figure it out more and more each and every day. I think that’s kind of one thing that resonated with me most is that not a lot of these guys had it figured out when they got (to the majors). None of them knew what was going on. ... So hearing that from those guys, it was really important for me early on.”

Finishing second in the award was A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson, who finished his first full season slashing .311/.355/.444. His batting average was third best in the majors and it led to him starting for the American League in the All-Star Game in Atlanta. The other finalist was Boston Red Sox’s slugger Roman Anthony, who appeared in only 71 games.

Kurtz and Wilson topping the voting marked the first time two rookies from the same team finished first and second since 1984 when Alvin Davis and Mark Langston did it with the Seattle Mariners.

The last A’s player to win the award were pitchers Andrew Bailey (2009) and Huston Street (2005), shortstop and current A’s coach Bobby Crosby (2004), outfielder Ben Grieve (1998), shortstop Walt Weiss (1988), McGwire (1987) and Jose Canseco in 1986.

With Kurtz, Wilson, designated hitter Rooker (30 home runs, 89 RBI), catcher Langeliers (31 home runs, tied for second among all catchers behind Cal Raleigh’s 60), Soderstrom (25 homers, 93 RBI) and Lawrence Butler (21 homers, 22 stolen bases), the A’s believe they have enough talent offensively to compete for a playoff spot in 2026.

Their issue, of course, will be pitching, where they allowed the fourth most runs, third most home runs and had the fourth-highest ERA in the majors (4.70).

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