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The fast track to the big leagues is officially on for Nick Kurtz.

After beginning his professional career with Single-A Stockton earlier this month and thoroughly dominating California League pitching to the tune of a .400/.571/.960 slash line with four home runs, two doubles and 12 RBIs through his first seven games, Kurtz -- the No. 4 overall pick by the A¡¯s in the 2024 MLB Draft -- has been promoted to Double-A Midland. He is expected to debut with the Rockhounds on Tuesday night against Wichita.

Upon drafting Kurtz -- rated Oakland¡¯s No. 2 prospect and the No. 45 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline -- back in July, A¡¯s scouting director Eric Kubota compared the Wake Forest first baseman to former A¡¯s and current Braves first baseman Matt Olson for his combination of power, an overall advanced approach at the plate and quality defense.

While speaking during his segment on A¡¯s Cast on Monday, A¡¯s general manager David Forst again brought up Olson¡¯s name when discussing how Kurtz¡¯s superiority at Single-A left the club no choice but to move him up the system.

¡°He was effectively like cosplaying Matt Olson in A-ball,¡± Forst said of Kurtz. ¡°It just wasn¡¯t great for his development. We wanted to challenge him.¡±

With four weeks left in the Minor League regular season and Midland in contention for the playoffs, the A¡¯s want to give Kurtz the experience of competing in big games down the stretch. The 21-year-old will move into an everyday role at first base for the Rockhounds, while Brennan Milone, Oakland¡¯s No. 24 prospect who is having a solid season there, will shift to more of a DH role.

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¡°Nick goes in there with a spot to play,¡± Forst said. ¡°We¡¯ll put him in the middle of the order. Milone can move around. It just made sense. ... Double-A has a little more left of their season than [High-A] Lansing does, plus they¡¯ve got a chance at a playoff spot. He could potentially play another five weeks there. It just made sense on a lot of levels.¡±

Kurtz was one of four 2024 A¡¯s Draft picks assigned to Single-A Stockton to begin their pro careers, joined by second-rounder Tommy White, third-rounder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and fourth-rounder Rodney Green. Forst expressed his excitement over how each player has been performing at the level and revealed that Davis Diaz, Oakland¡¯s eighth-round pick in the 2024 Draft out of Vanderbilt, will also join Stockton later this week.

¡°All these guys have kind of hit the ground running,¡± Forst said. ¡°It¡¯s been a really nice debut for just about everybody in the Draft class. ... We feel like our system is in a much better place than it was a year ago and two years ago.¡±