Nick Kurtz
- The Athletics’ roster as it stands starts at 1B · 460 PA · 3.3 WAR in the role
- Injured list Ended 2026 on the 60-day IL: Strained right thumb (since Aug 4)
- Trade read Unlikely to be traded: Young, controllable regular (age 24, control through 2030): the kind of player clubs build around.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 426 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 157 | .329 | .289 | 38% | 11% | 25% | +0.78 | −0.58 |
| RHP | 269 | .423 | .423 | 30% | 19% | 22% | +2.25 | +1.91 |
- Attack angle
- 13.0° (50% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- +4.0°
- Swing length
- 7.8 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 73%
- Pull-air %
- 14.2%
- Hard-hit %
- 57.4%
- Slash · wRC+
- .256/.396/.483 · 138
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage down over the middle (+4.6 vs. league per 100; 2.3 standard errors on 112 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest up and away (−2.9), but only 1.4 standard errors from average on 81 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 1,679 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Kurtz: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | Aaron Judge NYY · ’92 | .398 | 2.0 | 3.6 | Signed $40.0M |
| 34 | Oneil Cruz PIT · ’98 | .352 | 3.3 | 2.3 | Arb |
| 29 | Jake Bauers MIL · ’95 | .374 | 3.6 | 1.7 | Free agent |
| 29 | Garrett Mitchell MIL · ’98 | .356 | 3.1 | 2.5 | Arb |
| 28 | Munetaka Murakami CWS · ’00 | .351 | 2.9 | 2.2 | Signed $17.5M |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1B | −3 | −2 | +3.0 | +1.0 | 3,646 |
| 2025 | 1B | −6 | −4 | −0.2 | −4.2 | 4,144 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At 1B in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−8 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among 1Bs)| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1B | 206 | −4.3 |
| 2025 | 1B | 216 | +2.7 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025A | A | Stockton Ports | 22 | 1 | 4 PA | 4 PA · .667/.750/1.667 · 1 HR · 0.0% K · 25.0% BB |
| 2025AAA | AAA | Las Vegas Aviators | 22 | 20 | 97 PA | 97 PA · .321/.385/.655 · 7 HR · 26.8% K · 10.3% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant