Athletics’ biggest flop to begin 2026 MLB season

The Athletics have started the season 3-6 heading into a series with the New York Yankees. After last year’s offensive explosion, there were high hopes around the A’s before their second season in Sacramento. But the Athletics have not gotten the brilliance of Nick Kurtz so far, making him the team’s biggest flop so far.

The 4th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Kurtz debuted with the Athletics on April 23rd, 2025. For the first 16 games, he was 14-for-52 with two extra-base hits and no home runs. But in the remaining 101 games, he was among the best hitters in baseball. He ended the season with a .290 batting average, a 1.002 OPS, and 36 home runs. That ridiculous Rookie of the Year campaign had expectations through the roof coming into this season.

Kurtz has played eight games this season and is 4-for-27 with just one double. He has no home runs, no RBIs, and 14 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances. Their pitching was always going to be a weak spot, but their offense was supposed to balance that out. Kurtz has not held up his end of the bargain, putting the Athletics behind the 8 Ball early.

The Yankees are not the team to play when you are struggling on offense. Cam Schlittler is taking the bump on Tuesday for his third start of the season, and he has not allowed an earned run yet. Kurtz will get some benefit by being a lefty in The Bronx, but he has a long way to go to get his season-long numbers back to normal.

Kurtz is far from the only Athletics bat to stumble out of the gates. He has the biggest spotlight on him, but the offense as a whole has struggled. Who else needs to step up to upset the Yankees and get back on track?

The Athletics are struggling to hit on the road

One of the pieces the A’s added this offseason was Jeff McNeil. The former batting champion fell out of favor with the New York Mets, so they dumped his salary in Sacramento this offseason. So far this year, McNeil is 4-for-23 with just one RBI. He has declined significantly in recent years, with his batting average never cresting .270 since his batting title win of 2022.

The Athletics are in their second season at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, which grades out as one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league. Between the minor-league dimensions and desert air, home runs have been flying out of the park ever since they got there. But when this team hits the road, the bats rarely get packed.

Just nine games into this season, the Athletics have played three home games and six road games. In those three home games, they have scored a combined 23 runs, which includes getting shut out in the middle game of the series with the Houston Astros. In their six-game road trip to start the season, they scored 17 total runs.

Kurtz’s splits from last season reflect the advantage he gets playing in Sacramento. He hit 22 homers and posted a 1.039 OPS at home, while hitting just 14 homers with a .967 OPS in a similar sample size on the road. His four-homer game came on the road at Daikin Park in Houston. Kurtz is still a great hitter on the road, but no one should be panicking until he has a larger sample size at home.

The Athletics face the Mets after their series against the Yankees, which may provide an easier matchup for Kurtz. Then, they start a seven-game homestand where Kurtz could turn it around. The Athletics need him to start blasting homers, and it could start soon.

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