The A’s season has been a rough one, with injuries and a shaky pitching staff helping send it off the rails. Even in the middle of that mess, though, Henry Bolte has flashed something worth watching.
Bolte made his MLB debut earlier this season and wasted no time showing why his speed matters. Before getting the call, he strung together 12 straight at-bats with a hit, then carried that early contact success into the majors. The key has been simple: he’s been pounding the ball into the ground, and for a player with 100th-percentile speed, that can actually work in his favor.
That approach has helped lift his expected batting average from .243 to an actual .267. When a ball is hit on the dirt, Bolte’s legs give him a real chance to beat it out.
The injury to Denzel Clarke opened the door for Bolte in center field, and that’s how the young outfielder got his early look.
There’s still another level for him to reach, though, and it starts with trimming the swing-and-miss. Bolte is whiffing on 33.1% of his swings, a mark that sits in the ninth percentile this season. That’s followed by a 27.3% strikeout rate, which cuts into the impact his speed can have.
He’s also walking only 6.7% of the time, which leaves him with fewer chances to get on base in the first place. For Bolte, every extra trip aboard matters. Whether it comes via a ground ball or a walk, it creates the possibility of scoring on a hit in play or using his legs to steal a bag.
The path forward is pretty clear: shorten the swing, especially with two strikes, and give himself a better chance to make more contact. That kind of offseason work could turn his speed from a tool into a weapon.
Bolte’s stolen-base numbers show there’s still plenty of room to grow there, too. He has 14 steals and has been caught eight times, which puts him at a 63.64% success rate. With bigger bases and the league average hovering around 80%, that’s a long way from where he needs to be.
The game has also changed a bit when it comes to stealing bases. It’s not just about raw speed anymore - jumps and technique matter, and even slower players like Josh Naylor can pile up 30 stolen bases if they get it right.
Bolte has the speed part covered. The next step is turning that speed into a more reliable threat on the bases, because the more often he gets on, the more pressure he can put on defenses.
And there have been signs of real pop, too. Since the start of August, Bolte has posted a 97.1 MPH EV, a 60.7% HardHit%, and a 14.3% Barrel%.
He even gave a glimpse of that upside with a three-run homer that barely nicked the foul pole. That kind of moment is exactly why the A’s should be paying close attention.
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