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Oakland Athletics select Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz in the 2024 MLB Draft

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•07/14/24
Nick-Kurtz-1
Jun 17, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons first baseman Nick Kurtz (8) celebrates after retiring Stanford Cardinal third baseman Tommy Troy (not pictured) to end the game at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz has been selected by the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft, taken with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft.

The selection followed a highly productive career for the 6-foot-5 junior for the Demon Deacons.

Kurtz was tabbed an All-American by D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game, the ABCA and the NCBWA in 2024. He also earned first-team All-ACC honors, made the 2024 ACC All-Tournament team and was a 2024 First Team All-South Region selection.

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In addition to those accolades, Kurtz was a Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist. He was twice named the ACC Player of the Week during the 2024 season and also earned NCAA Player of the Week honors once.

The stats over his three-year career are remarkable. Nick Kurtz has hit .333 with 61 home runs, 35 doubles and two triples. He drove in 182 runs and scored 206 runs while also drawing a whopping 189 walks.

Those figures made him an attractive prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft.

What MLB Draft analysts are saying about Nick Kurtz

The thing many MLB Draft scouts like about Nick Kurtz is how good a hitter he is, something that has been reflected in the number of walks he has been issued.

He’s just hard to pitch to, which should carry over to the next level.

Here’s what MLB.com had to say about Kurtz as a prospect, ranking him as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft:

“Kurtz’s signature tool is his well-above-average power to all fields, the product of outstanding bat speed, strength and a left-handed stroke designed to drive balls in the air. More than just a slugger, he’s a complete hitter with no discernible weakness who crushes left-handers and right-handers and all types of pitches. He controls the strike zone, covers the entire plate and hits the ball with authority all over the ballpark.

“Kurtz also plays a quality first base and has average arm strength. The only blemishes on his game are his below-average speed, which doesn’t really matter given his position and offensive upside, and an injury history that includes a broken rib that knocked him out of the end of the 2023 College World Series. If he’s as good as scouts believe he is, he could turn into Jim Thome with defensive value.”