Henry Bolte recently took the world of minor league baseball by going 12-for-12. He had five extra-base hits in Friday's game before posting another 5-for-5 game the next day. That performance has contributed to a .348/.418/.658 slash line and 1.076 OPS in 37 games with the Athletics' Triple-A team.
According to sources told by Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline, the A's are going to call up Bolte and give him a chance to remain with the big league club. The Athletics already have some of the best young hitters in the game in Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers and Jacob Wilson. Adding Bolt to that crop could put them in legitimate contention.
A are competing..?
It's hard to believe, but yes, athletics is in controversy right now. They have managed to make it to the top of the struggling American League West division. The club has a respectable record of 21–19, which puts them two games ahead of the second-place Texas Rangers. If the season ended today, they would actually receive a bye into the postseason, which would be the second-best record to the AL division leaders.
That's mostly due to that young offensive core. The A's are in the top ten of MLB teams in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.249), on-base percentage (.326), slugging percentage (.400) and OPS (.726). This has helped cover the lack of viable pitching on the Athletics roster. The pitching staff has a combined 4.42 ERA on the year (21st in MLB).
Kurtz and Langeliers titled that group. Despite getting off to a slow start in his sophomore campaign, Kurtz has heated up since then. The 2025 AL Rookie of the Year has a ridiculous .841 OPS with a .414 OBP. To put that number in perspective, Barry Bonds' career OBP is .444. Langeliers ultimately seemed to be successful, posting a .336 batting average with 11 home runs. The backstop has an OPS over 1,000 for the first time in his career.
Bolte's spot on the roster
The outfield is mostly set up for the Athletics, with Lawrence Butler, Denzel Clark and Tyler Soderstrom making up the starting group. But that group has been seriously lacking in aggression and has posted a combined .191 batting average. Carlos Cortes and Jack Gelof have stepped up in their place. Cortes has an incredible .355/.408/.570 slash line with a .978 OPS.
With that in mind, Bolte has plenty of opportunities to get reps despite a crowded outfield. But if he struggles early, the A's can always send him back to Triple-A. Bolte is only 22 and has plenty of time to develop. But if he can contribute at the big league level, it could go a long way in helping the club win its first division title since 2013 (not including the shortened 2020 campaign).
