Young A’s slugger overtakes teammate as Rookie of the Year award favorite
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- Nick Kurtz surpassed teammate Jacob Wilson as AL Rookie of the Year favorite.
- Kurtz blasted 14 home runs with 36 RBIs over 37 games since returning June 9.
- Wilson’s batting slump dropped his average to .311, ending his top contender run.
There’s been a change atop the list of betting odds between two Athletics teammates for the American League Rookie of the Year award.
Slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz this week has overtaken All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson as the odds-on favorite, though the two remain the most likely winners of the award, according to most sports books.
Kurtz as of Friday is minus-310 on FanDuel, minus-300 on DraftKings and minus-325 on BetMGM. Wilson is second and moved to plus-270, plus-275 and plus-175, respectively. Houston Astros outfielder Cam Smith and Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony are commonly listed as third and fourth in the odds.
Kurtz in 37 games since returning from a left hip flexor strain June 9 has been one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball and entered Friday’s contest against the Houston Astros riding an 11-game hitting streak.
Since returning from injury, he’s hitting .317/.391/.741 with a 1.132 on-base plus slugging percentages with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs. During his current hitting streak he is batting .488/.553/1.122 with five home runs and 12 driven in. His current pace of 19 home runs in 65 games would pace out to 47 blasts over a full 162-game season.
The impressive power numbers come despite Kurtz not hitting his first home run until his 17th game with the A’s on May 13. He’s had a .707 slugging percentage since.
His 19 homers lead all MLB rookies, five ahead of the Miami Marlins’ Agustin Ramirez, who has 14.
Kurtz is just over a year removed from being drafted fourth overall out of Wake Forest. He shot through the A’s minor league system playing in just 33 games before getting promoted to the big leagues on April 23.
Wilson had been the Rookie of the Year favorite for the majority of the season while threatening Yankees slugger and reigning MVP Aaron Judge to win the American League batting title. A recent slump put Wilson’s average down to .311 after it had been as high as .360 on June 17.
Wilson was voted as the starting shortstop for the AL in the recent All-Star game, becoming the first rookie shortstop to get voted a starter by fans and the team’s first position player to start since Josh Donaldson in 2014.
