Saturday, May 23

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the A’s Beat newsletter.

There’s a hot-hitting shortstop in the Athletics organization who is knocking on the door of the big leagues, and it’s likely not the one you’re thinking of.

Leo De Vries is probably the first name that comes to mind here, and with good reason. Ranked the A’s No. 1 prospect and No. 2 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, De Vries is off to a great start at Double-A Midland. But we’re talking about a different shortstop here: Joshua Kuroda-Grauer.

Much like Henry Bolte kept on hitting at Triple-A Las Vegas to the point that he left the A’s no choice but to call him up to the big leagues last week, Kuroda-Grauer, ranked the organization’s No. 10 prospect, appears to be making a similar push. The 23-year-old earned a promotion from Double-A to Triple-A on May 12, and since joining the Aviators, Kuroda-Grauer entered Thursday batting .425 with a 1.142 OPS, one homer, four doubles and two triples in his first eight games.

Between the two levels, Kuroda-Grauer is hitting a combined .315 with an .885 OPS. What stands out about his first 41 Minor League games, though, is his 25 extra-base hits.

Since the day he was drafted by the A’s in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Rutgers, Kuroda-Grauer has been lauded for his elite bat-to-ball skills while also dinged for his lack of power. This offseason, "JKG" made a concerted effort to gain muscle by adding about 25 pounds to his 5-foot-10 frame in hopes of generating more pop.

That increase in power is showing through with higher exit velocities from Kuroda-Grauer, and he’s still maintaining those impressive contact abilities with just 19 strikeouts in his first 193 plate appearances.

“He’s a kid that kind of sees the writing on the wall, learns what he needs to work on, and he goes and works on it,” A’s Minor League hitting coordinator Todd Takayoshi said last week on A’s Cast. “With him, we said, ‘Hey, we want the ball coming off the bat. We’re not chasing home runs. But we want you to get down into your legs, hit the ball harder and shorten up the time to contact with the barrel.’ He’s taken it and run with it.”

The shortstop position is a fluid situation for the Athletics right now. Jacob Wilson remains sidelined with a left shoulder subluxation, and while the A’s remain hopeful his absence won’t be too long, the timeline for his return is still very much unclear. That leaves the A’s with Darell Hernaiz – who entered Thursday’s game against the Angels at Angel Stadium batting .391 (9-for-23) over his previous eight games – as a quality replacement in the meantime.

Kuroda-Grauer has always graded out as a strong defender, and he’s even expanded his versatility this season with nearly equal playing time at shortstop, second base and third base. So, should another need arise at shortstop or anywhere else on the A’s infield, Kuroda-Grauer is positioning himself nicely to be the next man up.

“With his profile as a hitter, it’s getting a lot better, just because now he’s not just trying to collect singles and get on base,” Takayoshi said. “That was the case until college and the first year or two we’ve had him. Now he’s starting to take more leveraged swings and it’s paying off.”

“Step in the right direction for Gage. Not just from the standpoint of innings, but the pitch count was solid. The aggression in the zone with his fastball was solid. The use of the changeup finally came out, which has been an emphasis. That’s the type of performance we’re looking for from Gage that he needs for his confidence and for us to really get an understanding of what he’s capable of doing. Up to last night, it hadn’t been great for him. He’s had success in different ways, but [Wednesday] night was an outing that I think Gage is capable of.” – A’s manager Mark Kotsay on A’s No. 3/MLB No. 41 prospect Gage Jump’s impressive outing of seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts Wednesday for Las Vegas

The A’s will be without Denzel Clarke longer than anticipated.

After beginning a rehab assignment over the weekend in the Minors, Clarke, out since April 21 due to a right foot bone bruise, was pulled off after suffering a significant “high-grade” left hamstring strain during a game with Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Clarke will return to Sacramento to continue his rehab, and the A’s will reassess his potential timeline for a return after the All-Star break.

• Often overlooked in this A’s lineup, Jeff McNeil played hero Wednesday with a clutch game-tying homer sparking a win in extras. More >>

• J.T. Ginn came painstakingly close to throwing the 14th no-hitter in A’s history before a soul-crushing turn of events in the ninth inning. More >>

• A’s No. 18 prospect Gunnar Hoglund will not pitch this season after a Spring Training injury resulted in season-ending surgery this week. More >>

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