MLB insider Jon Morosi made a bold statement on Athletics rookie outfielder Henry Bolte amid his incredible second-half performance. Bolte has been among the best players in MLB since the beginning of August, batting .312 with a .893 OPS while hitting seven homers and stealing eight bases. His 1.9 fWAR during that stretch ties him for sixth in all of MLB.
"This is a potential future 30/30 player going forward," Morosi said. "Right now, one of the best rookies in the game—certainly since the beginning of August. When this year began, Bolte was still in the minor leagues, Denzel Clarke was the A's' starting center fielder.
But increasingly that power, speed combination for Bolte has put him in the middle of the A's' plans for a long time to come. "...The A's were talking about their future a lot, this core of position players. Add Henry Bolte's name to it.
With a healthy season, even next year, you could be talking about the A's as a contender." Bolte started the year with Triple-A Las Vegas, but gave the A's no choice but to call him up early in the season. He hit 12 homers and logged 28 RBIs over the course of 37 games in Triple-A, posting a 1.067 OPS over the course of his time in the lower levels. He got off to a slow start in the bigs, posting just a .655 OPS through July, but raised his numbers well above league average during his hot streak.
On the year, Bolte has a .753 OPS with 10 homers and 33 RBIs, stealing 20 bases in the process. Bolte is the latest rookie to make an impact on the A's, further adding to the exciting young core they look to bring to Las Vegas in 2028. Bolte is one of the more exciting players on the A's at the moment, but that is largely due to the slew of injuries impacting the team this season.
The A's heavily invested in their youth following a lengthy rebuild beginning in the early 2020s, and their efforts finally begun paying off over the last couple of years. Lawrence Butler is showing flashes of his 2024 self since the All-Star break, Zack Gelof set a career high in homers and is just four RBIs away from a career high in that category as well and J.T. Ginn showed the potential to be a frontline starter prior to his injury.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
