Nick Kurtz opened an Angels series at Angel Stadium with 162 career games to his name—already producing a line of .284/.398/.581, including 44 home runs and 100-plus walks. Athletics manager Mark Kotsay singled out the 100-walk milestone as proof of a young hi
ANAHEIM — The moment Athletics manager Mark Kotsay heard what Nick Kurtz has already managed in just 162 career games, he couldn’t hide the grin.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Kotsay said.
Kurtz entered Monday night’s series opener against the Angels at Angel Stadium having played the equivalent of one full Major League season. with 162 career games under his belt. In that span. he’s posted a stat line of .284/.398/.581 with 34 doubles. three triples. 44 home runs. 107 walks. 115 RBIs and 119 runs scored.
The company gets rarer when you zoom out. Since RBIs became an official stat in 1920, Kurtz is the third left-handed hitter with at least 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 walks through 162 career games, joining Ted Williams and Juan Soto.
Then comes the smaller club—by definition even tougher to join. Among all hitters. left-handed or right-handed. since RBIs became official. Kurtz is only the third player with 40-plus homers and 100-plus walks in their first 162 career games. alongside Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Judge. Kurtz is the only lefty in that group.
Asked which of the three numbers he’s most impressed by, Kotsay didn’t take long.
“The 100 walks stands out for me,” Kotsay said. “For a young player to have that type of plate discipline and also to have league-wide recognition of not wanting to make mistakes to him. they’re really pitching him in a way that you don’t see young players get pitched right away. That says a lot about the impact he’s made in a short amount of time here.”.
That caution isn’t just talk. With his elite eye at the plate, Kurtz has forced pitchers into an unfamiliar pace of risk. The result has been a 41-game on-base streak through Monday—the longest active streak in the Majors. The franchise on-base record is 62, set by Mark McGwire from Sept. 16, 1995-June 18, 1996.
In the 2025 season, the longest on-base streak in MLB was 41 games by Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber was in his 11th Major League season last year. Kurtz, 23, is barely in his second year.
Since his debut on April 23. 2025. the production has come in waves that don’t look typical for a player still settling into major-league rhythm. Since the start of the ’25 season. Kurtz entered Monday second among all qualified hitters in wRC+ (166) behind only Judge. second to Judge in on-base percentage (.398) and third in slugging percentage (.581) behind Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
The Athletics staff sees more than numbers, too. Darren Bush, the A’s director of hitting, described what it looks like from inside the building.
“He is very advanced,” Bush said of Kurtz. “He’s able to have a game that he’s not happy about, then come out the next day and put together a really good game.”
Nick Kurtz Athletics Mark Kotsay Darren Bush Angels Angel Stadium American League Rookie of the Year 162 career games wRC+ on-base streak Mark McGwire Kyle Schwarber Ted Williams Juan Soto Rhys Hoskins Aaron Judge Shohei Ohtani