The A’s might have added their next young star: a 22-year-old Bay Area native
The Athletics might have promoted their next young star.
The team on Tuesday added 22-year-old Henry Bolte to their Major League roster after he put up the best numbers of any hitter in the minor leagues in 2026.
Bolte, a Palo Alto native, grew up an A’s fan — then the Oakland A’s — and was starry-eyed about his promotion when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
“The fact that it’s come to fruition with the A’s, is unbelievable,” Bolte said. “Super surreal moment.”
Bolte (pronounced Bol-tay) joined the A’s to provide depth in the outfield after leading all minor leaguers in runs (41), hits (55) and total bases (104) in 2026. His 12 home runs were the most in the Pacific Coast League, while his 17 stolen bases ranked second.
The 2022 second-round draft pick by the A’s had consecutive five-hit games last Friday and Saturday, boosting his slash line to a cartoonish .348/.418/.658 in 37 games for the Las Vegas Aviators. He’ll likely have a part-time role initially, which means potentially breaking up his rhythm after being a mainstay in Las Vegas’ starting lineup.
“I think it’s just treating it as the same game, same at-bats,” Bolte said. “Going up there with the same plan as what led to those games, and knowing it can’t be five-for-five every night. That’s a once in a lifetime thing.”
The right-handed hitter will likely get the majority of his playing time in right field while Lawrence Butler plays center and Denzel Clarke works his way back from a bone bruise. Bolte wasn’t in the starting lineup on Tuesday when the A’s began a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Sutter Health Park.
“He’s forced the hand,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “The week he had in Triple-A was one of the better weeks you can have as a player. We saw him in spring training and he had a really good and solid spring training with us. He left an impression and I think has earned this opportunity to be here.”
The A’s might need Bolte to contribute given their recent injury spate. All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson suffered a shoulder subluxation during Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Orioles in Baltimore. He was placed on the 10-day injured list with no timetable for his return. Opening day third baseman Max Muncy is also on the IL with a fractured bone in his left hand.
“He’ll get enough opportunity here to get a good evaluation,” Kotsay said.
A good showing could allow Bolt to join the A’s already talented group of young hitters, including last year’s American League Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, the 23-year-old first baseman who extended his on-base streak to 35 games on Tuesday with a leadoff walk for the longest active streak in MLB.
A’s catcher Shea Langeliers leads all MLB catchers with 2.1 wins above replacement metric (WAR), according to FanGraphs, and leads the big leagues in multiple-hit games. He hit his 12th home run of the season on Tuesday to go along with a double and three RBIs as the A’s lost 6-4 to the Cardinals.
The A’s entered Wednesday as one of four AL teams with a winning record (21-20) and in first place in the American League West division.
