The World Series, and with it the 2025 MLB season, is officially over. So that means that we, as fans, invariably start looking ahead to free agency and spring training and ultimately the 2026 season. But before any of that comes awards season.
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Nick Kurtz Awards
Among the awards recently given out are the Silver Slugger Awards, which are given to the player with the best offensive season at each respective position, and the Rookie of the Year award.
And the Athletics actually had a pair of youngsters in consideration for the latter: first baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson. Kurtz ultimately won, and unanimously so for the 2024 draft pick.
The rookie left-handed swinging first baseman tallied a .290/.393/.618 slash line at the plate across 117 games in the major leagues. Kurtz’s 122 hits and 36 HRs led to 86 RBIs, and the outstanding combination led him to an elite 1.002 OPS, making Nick Kurtz just the fifth rookie ever to post a 1.000+ OPS, joining an elite list of current and future Hall of Famers. To pick Kurtz’s best game of the year is, perhaps, to pick the best individual game for any player in baseball this season. On July 25, Kurtz had a hit in all six of his plate appearances, including four HRs and 19 total bases.
The offensive production accounts for the Silver Slugger, and probably a part of the Rookie of the Year, but Kurtz’s defense helped to keep him in the lineup often enough to put up his incredible offensive debut. In his 112 games at first base, Nick Kurtz committed just 10 errors, remarkably few for a first baseman, leading to a stellar .988 fielding percentage.
Should the 23-year-old get better with age, he would be a perennial MVP candidate, and seeing as he has already proven the ability to single-handedly power a team’s offense, even if he plateaus at this level for the duration of his career, he should win a lot of individual awards and could contribute to the ultimate team award.
