A’s star is ranked 3rd-best hitter in baseball by MLB.com. What are his MVP odds?
Since ending his historic 48-game on-base streak on May 26, tied for the longest in franchise history, Athletics star first baseman Nick Kurtz has done anything but slow down.
In fact, Kurtz has already rebuilt a 12-game on-base streak going back to May 29, holding a more than 1.300 OPS and hitting seven home runs since then.
So, it isn’t surprising that the unanimous 2025 American League Rookie of the Year win has continued to vault his way up in conversations for the best hitter in baseball, and perhaps even AL MVP, in just his age 23 season.
In MLB.com’s most recent hitter power rankings poll, released Thursday morning, Kurtz was ranked the third-best hitter in the all MVP, behind only the two MVP favorites — four-time MVP winner Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League and Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez for the AL. The results are determined by a poll of MLB.com baseball experts and writers.
As of Thursday afternoon, with the A’s enjoying an off day in Las Vegas, Kurtz led MLB with a .438 on-base percentage and 64 walks, which have become a bigger part of his game as pitchers have made attempts to limit his home run power.
Kurtz was tied for the AL lead in RBIs with 49, and his .967 on-base plus slugging percentage and was only behind Alvarez and New York Yankees designated hitter Ben Rice.
In total, Kurtz has amassed 3.2 wins above replacement, or WAR, according to Baseball Reference, to go with 15 home runs, 12 doubles and seven stolen bases in 67 games and 240 at-bats this season. His season slash line is currently sitting at .283/.438/.529.
Could Kurtz win MVP?
After a stellar May, in which he led the AL in OPS (1.025), runs (21), hits (34) and RBIs (26) en route to the second AL Player of the Month award of his career, plus a recent hot streak that has carried into June, Kurtz has positioned himself well for a potential MVP push.
Last July, Kurtz put together one of the most impressive monthly performances by a rookie in recent memory, culminating in his first AL Player of the Month and a Rookie of the Month to boot, solidifying his ascent as the frontrunner in the AL Rookie of the Year race.
Kurtz had the fourth-best odds to win AL MVP at +550 as of Thursday, according to FanDuel’s sportsbook, with other online betting websites displaying similar odds.
He only trailed Alvarez, who led the pack at +165, and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Rice, who were at +190 and +500, respectively. Beyond Kurtz in fourth, the field saw a big drop, with the fifth-best odds going to Julio Rodriguez at +2500.
Alvarez, a three-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, leads the AL with 22 home runs, a .636 slugging percentage and 1.066 OPS as one of few hitters that can say they have better power numbers than Kurtz this season.
Witt is known for his defense at shortstop and speed on the bases, allowing him to lead the AL with 3.7 WAR despite having worse hitting stats than Alvarez, Kurtz and Rice. He leads the AL with 24 stolen bases and is slashing .279/.353/.450.
Rice is slugging almost 100 points higher than Kurtz, though the A’s slugger’s ability to get on base has their OPS numbers in a comparable range. Rice also doesn’t play defense, so it may take more to convince MVP voters to give him the award than Kurtz, who plays solid defense at first base.
The only DH to ever win MVP is Ohtani, who has now won four, though three of those seasons came with Ohtani, a two-way player, also pitching as a starter.
The odds to win MVP for Kurtz and the rest of the field drastically improved when Yankees superstar and three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge hit the injured list in early June with a stress fracture to his rib, with his expected return date not until August.
Judge ranked behind only Alvarez in MLB.com’s second MVP poll, released earlier this month before the Yankees announced Judge would miss significant time. In that poll, Kurtz ranked fifth, behind Alvarez, Judge, Witt and Rice.
Kurtz and the A’s continue their six-game stint in Las Vegas, where the team plans to move in 2028 once their new ballpark is built, when they take on the Colorado Rockies at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Las Vegas Ballpark. The A’s took two out of three games against the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week; Kurtz hit three home runs in that series.
