'The tools are there': No. 10 prospect Bolte impressing A's
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When it comes to pure raw talent in the A¡¯s organization, there might not be a player with a more tantalizing skillset than Henry Bolte.
Rated Oakland¡¯s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Bolte has a 55-grade power tool and 65-grade run tool that both rank as the highest in the system. That power-speed combo continues to earn him high praise.
¡°Bolte is a phenomenal athlete with great makeup,¡± said A¡¯s assistant general manager and director of player personnel Billy Owens, who compared Bolte¡¯s game to that of former All-Star Mitch Haniger. ¡°Mentally, he¡¯s a sponge. Capable of absorbing instruction and making adjustments. Henry¡¯s future is bright.¡±
The A¡¯s worked closely with Bolte last spring on cutting down on his swing-and-miss, and he did that last season with Single-A Stockton by hitting .257 with 14 homers, 17 doubles, five triples, 68 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Beginning the 2024 season at High-A Lansing, Bolte is off to a solid start through 35 games with six homers, 17 stolen bases and a .864 OPS.
Bolte still has some levels to hit before reaching the Majors, but the 20-year-old outfielder maintains a sky-high ceiling and should keep rising through the system.
¡°The tools are there,¡± A¡¯s director of player development Ed Sprague said. ¡°He can run. He can throw. He¡¯s got great power. It was always just that swing-and-miss, and he cut that out to the point where he really competes at the plate. The development path for him last year was really impressive.¡±
Here¡¯s a roundup of some other notable performances throughout the A¡¯s system:
Triple-A Las Vegas
A¡¯s No. 1 prospect Jacob Wilson, who recently moved up MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100 Prospects list from No. 60 to No. 56, continues to dominate Minor League pitching. The shortstop was promoted to Triple-A earlier this month and is batting .375 (9-for-24) in six games for the Aviators. Overall, Wilson is hitting a combined .438 with a 1.110 OPS in 28 games between Double-A Midland and Triple-A. The 22-year-old¡¯s elite bat-to-ball skills are also on full display, as he¡¯s struck out just 12 times in 118 plate appearances.
Double-A Midland
Gunnar Hoglund, the lone player remaining from the Matt Chapman deal with Toronto in 2022, is finally in a good place with his health after being injured for the majority of his A¡¯s career. The 24-year-old right-hander, rated Oakland¡¯s No. 18 prospect, holds a 4.63 ERA in eight games (seven starts) and leads all Midland pitchers with 41 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. Pitching with a bit more freedom after working under a strict innings limit in 2023, Hoglund should get a chance to move up at least one level at some point this season.
Single-A Stockton
Luke Mann flew under the radar a bit as a 14th-round pick in last year¡¯s MLB Draft out of University of Missouri. So far, he¡¯s performing as Stockton¡¯s top hitter, leading the team in homers (seven), RBIs (23) and OPS (.959) through 32 games.