Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Report: Athletics promoting top prospect Kurtz to big leagues originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The time finally has come.

After his scorching-hot start to the 2025 MiLB season, the Athletics are promoting first baseman and No. 1 prospect Nick Kurtz to the big leagues, MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reported Monday, citing a source.

The A’s are calling up No. 1 prospect (MLB No. 35 prospect) Nick Kurtz, per source.

Kurtz has dominated Triple-A, hitting .321/.385/.655 and leading the Minors with seven homers. Drafted 4th overall in 2024, he will reach the big leagues after just 32 career Minor League games.

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) April 21, 2025

Kurtz, 22, was selected by the Athletics with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, and less than one year later, has ascended through the organization’s minor-league system and onto the big-league roster.

In 20 games with Triple-A Las Vegas this season, Kurtz is batting .321/.385/.655 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 97 plate appearances.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound first baseman/designated hitter joins an up-and-coming Athletics roster that features homegrown bats such as outfielder Lawrence Butler, first baseman Tyler Soderstrom, catcher Shea Langeliers, shortstop Jacob Wilson, infielder Max Muncy as well as arms like closer Mason Miller and starting pitchers JP Sears and J.T. Ginn.

It remains to be seen exactly what Kurtz’ role will be upon arrival, but he should provide manager Mark Kotsay a powerful left-handed-hitting option.

The Mets open a three-game series with the Phillies at Citi Field on Monday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• The Mets' team ERA of 2.35 is the lowest in baseball
• Pete Alonso leads the majors with a .718 slugging percentage, and leads the National League with a 1.171 OPS and 232 OPS+
• Juan Soto has reached base in seven of his last 12 plate appearances
• Luisangel Acuña has 11 hits in his last 28 at-bats

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Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Phillies play a three-game series at Citi Field beginning on Monday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

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Preview

New York's offense is heating up

The Mets' bats didn't completely go off during their four-game sweep of the Cardinals, but things are starting to get more consistent and well-rounded.

After a beginning of the season where the offense was carried primarily by Pete Alonso, with some key contributions from Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, everyone is starting to perform -- which culminated during Sunday's 7-4 victory.

Luisangel Acuña has 11 hits in his last 28 at-bats (upping his OPS to .760), Tyrone Taylor is on a four-game hitting streak, Brandon Nimmo has hit safely in his last three games, and Brett Baty had a pair of doubles during the series against St. Louis while reaching base safely in all four games.

New York's offense coming around, paired with truly elite pitching (the staff's 61 runs allowed are the fewest in baseball) has created a recipe for success that has the Mets at 15-7 and 2.0 games up on Philadelphia entering play on Monday.

The Juan Soto breakout seems to be happening

Soto has reached base in seven of his last 12 plate appearances, including notching five hits during the sweep over the Cards.

On Sunday, Soto ripped a game-breaking two-run double to left-center field in the eighth inning, giving him five total RBI in the four games against St. Louis.

Soto's OPS for the season is up to .821, and he said over the weekend that he recently corrected something in his swing -- and he certainly looked a lot more comfortable than he had in the handful of games before that.

Soto also received a warm reception from the fans at Citi Field over the weekend, including a standing ovation, during a period where some in the New York media were starting to turn on him despite his Mets tenure still being in its infancy and him still producing despite not being at his best.

Now, it appears Soto is locked in at the plate and ready to fully break out.

How is Mark Vientos?

Vientos left in the middle of Saturday's game after making a leaping catch at third base and feeling something in his groin while chasing a foul ball soon after.

But the level of concern is low.

Speaking after Saturday's game, Vientos said he was confident the groin issue had to do with cramping due to not drinking enough water.

He did not play on Sunday, but was feeling better. And it's possible Vientos will be ready to play by Monday.

Before leaving Saturday's game, Vientos was heating up -- smacking home runs on both Thursday and Friday.

Aaron Nola has been struggling

The Mets will face Nola, Christopher Sanchez, and Zack Wheeler during this week's three-game series.

Sanchez and Wheeler have been rolling, but it's a different story for Nola.

In four starts this season, he has a 6.65 ERA and 1.66 WHIP.

Nola's last start was his worst, as he surrendered seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over 5.1 innings against the Giants while walking four and striking out eight.

2024 NLDS rematch -- and the energy that comes with it

The last time the Mets and Phillies squared up was in this building last October, when the Mets dispatched of Philadelphia in Game 4 of the NLDS while punching their ticket to the NLCS.

And with the Mets playing an early-season slate to this point that has featured just six NL East games (all against the Marlins), there should be even more juice for this series.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the Braves are off to an 8-13 start and sitting in last place. It should be noted, though, that Atlanta has picked things up recently -- with a 6-4 mark over the last 10 games.

The Braves should not be counted out as a serious factor in the division this season, but for now it's the Mets and Phils at the top.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Juan Soto

Soto looks truly comfortable for the first time this season.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

David Peterson

Peterson struck out nine during his start against St. Louis this past Friday.

Which Phillies player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber has cracked seven homers already this season, and enters this series with an OPS of 1.001.

The last time the Mets and Phillies met it was Game 4 of the NLDS. 

Francisco Lindor demolished a grand slam off Carlos Estevez in the bottom of the sixth -- and the Mets never looked back as they sent their division rival packing and secured the first playoff series clincher in Citi Field history. 

Fast forward a few months later, and the two teams are set to meet again. 

The Mets are riding high as they currently sit in first place in the NL East and are tied with the San Diego Padres for the second-most wins in the NL after securing a commanding four-game series sweep of the Cardinals.

Philadelphia is coming off a rough series finale loss to the scrappy Miami Marlins in which their bullpen blew another late-inning lead, but they are playing good baseball as well -- sitting just 2.0 games back of the Mets. 

While it’s still early in the year, the expectation is more fireworks when the rivals meet again, starting Monday. 

“We know the Phillies have a fantastic team,” Francisco Lindor said. 

“It’s early, but every game counts,” added Brandon Nimmo. “They obviously don’t like the way things ended last year and I’m sure they’d like to make a statement right away -- it’s a big series, I expect it to be high energy. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

This three-game set is indeed shaping up to be a ton of fun. 

This will be the Mets’ biggest test to this point in the season and it seems to have come at a perfect time -- as their stars finally started finding their groove at the plate during the four games against the Cardinals. 

Lindor homered twice during the series and is back doing his thing setting the table atop the order. Juan Soto is looking more and more like himself after driving in runs in three of the four games. Pete Alonso has continued his early-season tear with an NL-leading 24 RBI. 

The Mets have also began receiving more contributions from the rest of the lineup.

Brandon Nimmo came up with a RBI single to retake the lead in Sunday's game. Luisangel Acuña and Brett Baty have turned things around after a brutal start to the season. Mark Vientos was showing signs of life before suffering his groin injury -- luckily for the Mets, he was said to be feeling better pregame.

Luis Torrens also continues showing out with the bat and behind the dish while Francisco Alvarez is working his way back and Tyrone Taylor has come through with some big knocks since taking on the bulk of the playing time in center with Jose Siri sidelined.

With the pitching doing their thing and the offense now settling into a groove, everything seems to be clicking for New York -- and they’ll look to keep that rolling against Aaron Nola in Monday's series opener. 

“We know we have to go out there and play the game the right way,” Lindor said. “They have a really good lineup, they have some really good pitchers -- we just have to stay the course. At the end of the day, we have to give everything we got no matter who is on the other side.”

San Diego’s Luis Arraez returned to the stadium postgame after he was taken to hospital following a collision with Houston’s Mauricio Dubón in the Padres’ 3-2 win over the Astros on Sunday night.

“Obviously, very scary,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said after the game. “We think he’s for the most part out of the woods. More time will tell, but the initial testing is very favorable. No fractures of any sort. I mean, he got a little bit of a laceration on his jawline, so we are worried about his jaw. We are worried about his cervical region. Everything was clear, stable on the initial testing.”

However, Shildt was cautious about the initial results of testing.

“We’ve been burned before on testing, so we will be cautiously optimistic,” he said. “He did have a period where he wasn’t aware of where he was, so that’s clearly concerning. Everything is coming back to him now, and his initial testing from a concussion standpoint was favorable, but clearly, we are not out of the woods. All things considered, that’s a blessing.”

Related: It’s a girl! Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani of the LA Dodgers is now a father

Arraez hit a drag bunt in the first inning, grounding it down the first-base line to Christian Walker, who flipped it to second baseman Dubón, who ran over to cover first. As Dubón covered the base, he appeared to accidentally hit Arraez in the face with his elbow. Both players fell to the ground, but Arraez took the worst of it, laying motionless as staff from both teams came out to tend to him.

“It was scary,” Dubón said. “I mean, just watching him not move. It was scary. Especially people know the type of player I am. I’m not a dirty player or anything. So it sucks. Worst part about it is you get death threats from stuff like this and everything. So it’s going to be a fun ride home.”

Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium. As he was being placed on the cart, Arraez put his arm around Shildt.

“It was a sad moment, especially getting close to him and seeing him on the ground like that, you definitely get scared,” said San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr, who hit the tiebreaking home run in the game. “You almost go into tears but holding up. You sit down right next to him and start praying for him right away. Happy he is back with us already. Just happy, he’s standing up. It’s a sad part of the game, but stuff happens sometimes. Just happy he’s alright.”

Tatis, who was running to second on the play, said he heard the collision. “As soon as they called timeout, I went to see my boy and see what was going on,” he said.

Dubón said he knows Arraez. “It sucks just having that play on him and everything,” he said. “Like I said before, there’s nothing I could have done. I braced myself and I thought I was going to get the worst out of it. I mean, I’m not a big guy.”

Play resumed after a 10-minute delay. Arraez entered hitting .287 on the season with three home runs and seven RBIs.

Clay Holmes, the starting pitcher, is settling into a groove. 

The right-hander had a bit of an up-and-down beginning in his transition to the rotation, but he’s been spectacular for the Mets over his past two starts -- the last of which came in Sunday’s series finale victory over the Cardinals. 

Holmes pitched well enough to qualify for a win, but he settled for the no decision. 

He had to work around traffic right away -- as a leadoff walk and a Willson Contreras single put two on with two outs in the top of the first, but he was able to get lefty Alec Burleson swinging to end the inning. 

He retired the next six batters in order before facing more trouble in the fourth, as the Cardinals put two runners on with just one out this time, but he used a punch out and fly out to again dance out of danger. 

St. Louis was finally able to get to Holmes in the sixth, as the red-hot Brendan Donovan led off the inning with a double and came in to score a few batters later after advancing to third on a wild pitch. 

It looked like his day was going to come to a tough ending two batters later as Jordan Walker crushed a high fly to left, but Brandon Nimmo made a terrific leaping catch in front of the fence -- helping Holmes get through six innings for the first time as a Met.

He allowed just the one run on four hits while walking two and striking out six.  

“On a day it was windy and the two-seam was moving, he had to use all his weapons,” Carlos Mendoza said. “The changeup, the four-seam, the cutter, the sweep and slider, and did not shy away from the two-seam when he needed to -- that’s what you call pitching.

“For a guy who is starting to make that transition and when you see it this early, that’s pretty impressive. Just to have the feel for it and his ability to trust the pitches that are kind of new for him -- now that he’s going out there and giving us depth, it’s pretty impressive.”

With each turn through the rotation, Holmes just continues improving. 

The former Yankees closer has now struck out six or more batters in four of his five outings to begin the season -- and he's allowed just one earned run in each of his past two starts, bringing his ERA down to 3.16 on the year.

He’s starting to look more and more like the pitcher the Mets saw during his terrific spring training -- but he also knows there’s still more work to be done. 

“There’s been a lot of growth and a lot of learning on the fly,” Holmes said. “I still feel like I’m hitting my stride a little bit -- you can feel the improvements. I’m starting to get a feel for my stuff and how to use it in this role. 

“I’m starting to bounce back better in between starts, and I just feel like with each time out I’m getting better -- it’s nice to see the work paying off a little bit, but still feel like there’s room to grow here.”

Struggling a bit to start his career with the Mets after signing the highest-paid contract in MLB history over the offseason, Juan Soto received a standing ovation from the fans at Citi Field on Friday night in an attempt to show their support for the outfielder and help lift him from the doldrums.

Since then, Soto is 5-for-10 with five RBI, including a big 2-for-3 day in Sunday's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals. The recent hot streak has raised Soto's batting average to .256 and he's shown no signs of slowing down.

"It’s a great feeling when you have the fanbase supporting you when you’re doing bad, when you’re doing good -- it’s just great," Soto said after the game. "I really appreciate what they did. I feel like they don't know how meaningful that is. It means a lot to the players when they do that. It’s really special."

Soto's biggest hit during the four-game series was a two-run double in the eighth inning off reliever Ryan Fernandez that helped secure New York's 7-4 win against St. Louis. The double (which came with two strikes) split the gap in left-center field and had an exit velocity of 106.9 mph, showing off the 26-year-old's opposite field power.

"In the beginning I was trying to go yard, but when he put me in the [two-strike] hole I just tried to put the ball in play. He made a good pitch and I made a better swing," Soto said.

It's a swing that Soto has been working on since the start of the season and it's finally begun to pay off.

In fact, on Saturday manager Carlos Mendoza saw something in the outfielder's swing on a foul ball to left field that he really liked and thought "that's what it is right there."

After talking about it with Soto after the game, both agreed that "something clicked" during that at-bat which has resulted in his recent performance.

"When you see him driving the ball the other way with authority the way he did with that double in the gap, that’s a good sign," Mendoza said. "When he’s going good, that’s the A swing there."

The timing of the standing ovation and Soto's improved production at the plate could just be a coincidence. After all, he wasn't going to struggle all season long.

However, it's true that Mets fans packed Citi Field during the four games over the weekend and have been creating an incredible atmosphere for the players, especially with the calendar still saying April.

And with a 9-1 record at home, it must be working.

"It's been great, this crowd has been unbelievable day in and day out," Soto said. "I really love the support. They've been great since day one, so thank you."

The next challenge awaiting New York will be the Philadelphia Phillies who are set to begin a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Monday. It will be the first time the Mets' division rivals are back in New York since getting eliminated from the playoffs in the NLDS last season.

Even with the Phillies -- who will enter Monday two games back of the Mets in the NL East standings -- potentially extra motivated to avenge their season-ending loss this series, the Mets aren't getting caught up in any of the hoopla that might lie ahead.

"We just gotta focus on what we wanna do," Soto said. "We’re not looking at the standings or anything right now, it’s way too early. We’re just trying to win series. That’s the mindset."

Brandon Nimmo’s had a bit of a rough start this season -- but he played a key role in helping the Mets secure their four-game series sweep over the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. 

His first big moment came with the glove. 

With the Mets leading by two in the sixth, St. Louis outfielder Jordan Walker stepped to the plate and crushed a deep fly to left. Nimmo ranged back and made a leaping catch in front of the fence to rob him of a solo homer.

“I thought maybe I had a shot, I just needed to time it up right,” Nimmo said. 

“It was huge for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza added. “I think that ball was gonna be out, I didn’t see the replay but it’s just another good defensive play this year -- that’s what it’s going to take. Really, really huge play from him there.” 

Nimmo then came through again in the later innings -- this time with the bat. 

After the Cardinals rallied to even things up on a Thomas Saggese double in the top of the seventh, the Mets were threatening to answer right back as Francisco Lindor roped a single and Juan Soto drew a five-pitch walk. 

Pete Alonso was unable to come through for what felt like the first time all season, but Nimmo picked him up. 

The sweet-swinging left-hander has been aggressive early in the count to this point in the year -- but with Cardinals reliever Phil Maton pounding the zone with heat, he waited for a breaking ball to pounce. 

Nimmo took two cutters right down the middle before lining a 1-2 curveball back through the box and into center for a go-ahead run scoring single. 

BRANDON NIMMO COMES THROUGH!

THE METS TAKE THE LEAD BACK! pic.twitter.com/KSImUcI1ag

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 20, 2025

“He always has a good plan, more times than not he’s going to execute,” Mendoza said. 

“Those are big moments and you’re always playing a cat and mouse game,” Nimmo added. “He got ahead quickly and that was good for him, but you just try and never give up on an at-bat and know that you’re just one swing away and try and find the barrel.”

It certainly was a much-needed big hit for Nimmo, who has struggled with RISP to this point. 

Mainly batting in the cleanup spot behind Lindor, Soto and Alonso, he’s driven in just 10 runs thus far with four homers and three doubles -- but, he’s been here before and knows he’s just one swing away.

“It’s no secret I’ve been struggling, but that’s baseball,” Nimmo said. “I saw some video from April of last year against the Cardinals and I was hitting like .200 with two homers and 15 ribeyes at the end of April -- it’s not the first or the last time that I’ll be struggling. 

“You’re just trying to find ways that you can try and help. You never give up, you always go up there with confidence knowing that this next at-bat things can change for you -- you go up there with that mentality and just try and help the team win however you can.”