A's Calling-Up No.5 Prospect Henry Bolte After Scalding Hot Weekend

The A's are making the move that the baseball world has been clamoring for, as No. 5 prospect Henry Bolte will be making his debut vs. the St. Louis Cardinals this week. This has been reported by numerous sources, and confirmed by MLB.com's Martín Gallegos.

The move comes after the 22-year-old has been practically banging down the door of promotion. Bolte has been on a tear in Triple-A since the start of May, hitting .595 with a 1.741 OPS and smashing five home runs.

He had a run where he went 12-for-12 at the plate over the weekend, and social media was in awe. Bolte obviously won the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week award after the run he has been on at the plate.

On the season, Bolte is hitting .348 with 12 home runs and 17 stolen bases. In fact, he is the only player in Minor League Baseball with 10+ HRs and more than 15 stolen bases. In total this year, Bolte has 22 extra base hits and 55 total hits in 37 games.

Bolte has taken another step at the plate this year, cutting his strikeout rate by almost seven percent, down to 22% overall. He is sporting a 157 wRC+ (100 is league average) and has increased his average exit velocity to 90.4 (113.3 max).

Bolte has mainly played right field and center field in Triple-A Las Vegas, playing 360 1/3 innings in right and 224 innings in center over the past two seasons. Bolte will join a crowded A's outfield, but it would make sense that he will see consistent, every-day at-bats as the A's will want to get an extended look at him.

It will be interesting to see who the A's give fewer at-bats to as they work Bolte into the outfield mix, presumably in center. If he takes over that spot, then right field could effectively turn into a revolving door between Lawrence Butler, Colby Thomas and Carlos Cortes.

The A's outfield, aside from Cortes, has started slowly this season, and adding Bolte may give the group the boost it needs. Bolte's athleticism and speed will be a very welcome addition, as the A's lack a speed threat on the bases other than Zack Gelof.

His performance at the plate has forced the A's hand, and now the Palo Alto native who grew up an A's fan's dreams are coming true.

As of now, no corresponding move has been announced. The A's do have a spot open on the 40-man roster, taking care of that hurdle. They could place Jacob Wilson on the IL after he left yesterday's game with what the A's are calling a left shoulder sprain.

An alternative would be optioning either Colby Thomas or Lawrence Butler. Butler has been off to a very slow start to the season, and while the A's optioning him to Triple-A would be a surprise, it would allow him to reset and get back to the 2024 form that saw him as one of the best players in baseball in the second half.

Adding Bolte will provide the A's with their best offensive options right now, in a season in which every game matters if they're going to make a push for the postseason.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow