A's Can't Ignore Bolte Much Longer, and That's Going to Create a Headache

The A's have started the 2026 season on the right path. Currently 21-19 and atop the American League West by 2.5 games, the A's have shown the league that they are ready and capable to compete for a playoff spot.

However, the A's face some tough decisions regarding their crowded outfield, and the may have to make them sooner than they were planning. From the perspective of organizational depth, the A's are lucky to have this problem of figuring out who among a half dozen of players deserves every day big league at-bats.

A's No. 5 prospect, Henry Bolte, has been on an absolute tear the past two weeks with Triple-A Las Vegas. In nine games in the month of May, Bolte is hitting .595 with five home runs, five doubles, a triple, 13 runs batted in, two walks, five strikeouts, and an OPS of 1.741. Not to mention adding on five stolen bases.

This has created a lot of buzz on social media and there are a lot of fans clamoring for the A's to call up the Palo Alto native. There is a lot that goes into deciding if and when a player should be called up. In this article, I will be presenting the data on the A's outfielders either currently on the roster or banging, as hard as he can, on the door of promotion like Bolte is.

Tyler Soderstrom | .207 AVG, .700 OPS, and 5 HR

Tyler Soderstrom is having an interesting start to the year. He is walking more than last year, while striking out at nearly the same rate, which is a positive. His bat speed is roughly the same, and his barrel and hard hit percentages are up.

However, the results don't match last season's results. It is still early in the year, and there are no signs that this will be a prolonged outcome, which makes the current stretch interesting.

His defensive stats are down a bit after a season where he was a finalist to win the Gold Glove for left fielders. Last season, he posted a 10 DRS and 5 OAA, compared to this season, where he has posted a -1 DRS and a -2 OAA.

Soderstrom has been a mainstay at the top of the A's lineup, and that is not going to change. He's going to be in the lineup for the long haul.

Carlos Cortes | .355 AVG, .978 OPS, and 4 HR

The A's need to play Carlos Cortes every day, and they have started to over the past week or so. He strikes out at one of the lowest rates in baseball (9.1%, 99th percentile) and rarely chases pitches. Baseball Savant has his xBA at .327 (99th percentile), xwOBA at .393 (92nd percentile), and his xSLG at .516 (89th percentile).

Right now, Cortes is one of the best hitters in baseball. It is unlikely that he continues hitting at this rate all season, but Cortes has more than proven that he deserves an everyday role and not a platoon role where he only plays when a right-hander is on the mound.

In fact, Cortes is hitting .625 against lefties so far this season. Granted the sample size is very small, but it should be a signal to the A's that they need to play him more.

Lawrence Butler | .179 AVG, .560 OPS, and 3 HR

Lawrence Butler has had a slow start to the 2026 season, and advanced metrics chop it up to a really long period of bad luck. The problem is deciding when a slump at the plate officially becomes the new status quo.

Butler is walking at a 11.6% rate, which is in the 71st percentile. His bat speed, hard hit percentage, and average exit velocity are all above average, although they are down from the 2024 breakout year that earned him his 7-year, $65.5 million deal. Since that breakout, he has been a below league-average hitter with a 96 wRC+ last season and a 58 wRC+ this season (100 is league average).

Butler has been regarded as one of the best personalities in the clubhouse, which is more valuable than the average fan may think. That, on top of the fact that Butler has shown that he can be a threat offensively and defensively, is what makes this decision so hard for the A's. He was the first A's player since Coco Crisp to have a 20 HR-20 SB season, and he has a career 4 DRS/3 OAA in right field.

The A's will have to decide whether this is just an extended period of bad luck at the plate or if it is becoming the new normal. If it is the latter, then an option to Triple-A Las Vegas to work on things in a hitter-friendly environment may be in the cards.

Colby Thomas | .318 AVG, .830 OPS, and 1 HR

Colby Thomas mashes against left-handed pitchers and seems to create a highlight every time he plays, whether it is in the field or at the plate. He had six home runs and three doubles in 61 at-bats last year against lefties. This year, he has one home run and is hitting .333 in 18 at-bats against southpaws.

Thomas does not get that many opportunities to play because of how many outfielders the A's have needing regular at-bats. If the A's cannot find a regular role for him, then they may use him as a trade piece to upgrade another part of the roster, like the pitching staff.

Henry Bolte, No. 5 A's Prospect | .348 AVG, 1.076 OPS, and 12 HRs (in AAA)

Henry Bolte, the man on fire right now in Triple-A. Bolte was promoted to Las Vegas last season, where he played well hitting, .300 with a .837 OPS. He seems to have reached another level at the plate this season while cutting his strikeout rate by a little more than six percent, down to 22.1%.

The reason behind why the A's can't just promote him to the big leagues and not think twice is because when/if they promote him, they are going to want to get an extended look at him. That means consistent, every day at-bats.

It wouldn't make sense to promote him and platoon him when they have a lefty masher in Colby Thomas to compliment their three lefty-hitting outfielders in Soderstrom, Cortes, and Butler.

Therefore, the only way it would appear that the A's can guarantee every day play for Bolte at the major league level is by optioning or significantly limiting Butler's at-bats, which the A's are seem unlikely to do.

The result is the A's continue to let Bolte destroy Triple-A pitching for the next month and revisit in June. If Butler's rut at the plate is still ongoing three months in or if Cortes starts to slow down, then there is an opportunity.

Not to mention, Denzel Clarke is currently on the IL and will eventually be back in the fold himself. Now, he has struggled mightily at the plate since his debut, but he is arguably the best defensive outfielder in baseball when healthy. If Bolte is up, Clarke may end up optioned to Triple-A to work on his offensive game upon his return from the IL.

Another wild card is Zack Gelof, who is in the middle of a resurgence and riding a nine-game hit streak. Gelof has been getting reps at third with the injury to Max Muncy, and has looked comfortable there. Before the Muncy injury, Gelof's main position was center field.

The A's have a lot of depth in the outfield and a lot of questions they are going to have to answer over the next few weeks and months. Someone may be used as a trade piece to bolster another part of the roster. Maybe the A's will surprise everyone and promote Bolte this week before the upcoming homestand following the injury to Jacob Wilson.

The A's typically wait for their prospects to beat the door down to get the call to the big leagues, and Bolte has been showing that he is ready for the next level all year.

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