Fantasy Baseball Year in Review: Athletics

  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on October 7, 2025 2:45 am by Anthony Kates | Published: October 7, 2025

    2025 was the year of the Rookie for the Athletics, as Jacob Wilson, Nick Kurtz, Luis Morales and Denzel Clarke each left an indelible mark on the season. Kurtz has positioned himself as the rightful heir to the “Bash Brothers” throne, Wilson posted the second lowest strikeout rate in all of baseball and battled for the American League batting title, Clarke showed off defensive wizardry in the outfield and Morales dazzled with an electric fastball and a solid performance, even though he had less than 120 minor league innings before getting the call to the big leagues. They called a new ballpark home, which was a boon to their hitting, but a detriment to their pitching, as they hit more home runs and scored more runs at home than in 2024, but also allowed far more runs and home runs than in 2024.

    CATCHER

    Shea Langeliers has improved season by season at the big league level, producing his best year yet in 2025. He hit a career high home runs, 31, set a career high in batting average, .277, OBP, .325, and slugging, .536; had a career low strikeout rate, 19.7%, and swinging strike rate, 11.9%; and had his best wRC+, 132, and most WAR, 3.9. He raised his contact rate to 77.1% and his zone contact rate to 85.4%, pulling the ball less and hitting it hard more often.

    His power and defense have never been a question in the profile, but there were some worries the hit tool would never be more than average, so the continued improvement in his approach is very welcome and encouraged. When he’s not in the lineup, there is not a viable fantasy replacement on the roster.

    “Bangeliers” finished the year as the #3 fantasy catcher, after being drafted as the #8 catcher off the board in 2025 drafts, one of four catchers who hit 30 or more home runs and one of eight (in the top 20) who hit .270 or higher. He should be one of the first six catchers off of the board in 2026 drafts, with the upside to be the second best at the position.

    FIRST BASE

    Nick Kurtz is going to win the American League Rookie of the Year award and deservedly so. He had an incredible MLB debut one year after the Athletics made him the #4 pick of the 2024 First-Year Player’s Draft.

    While there were some concerns with his hit tool and his strikeouts, Kurtz put on an absolute power clinic, hitting 36 home runs in just 489 plate appearances, including four in one game against the Houston Astros, and generating a team leading 4.5 WAR, even though he had fewer plate appearances than the next five highest producing Athletics hitters. He had a 30.9% strikeout rate, thanks to a 14.2% swinging strike rate and 67% contact rate, but he also had a 22.2% chase rate, which is criminally low for someone with so many strikeouts, a 12.9% walk rate and elite statcast numbers: 114.6 MPH max exit velocity, 92.7 MPH average exit velocity, 18.3% barrel rate and a 50.9% hard-hit rate. He was not as limited by the lower contact rate as would be expected, but it will be tough for him to replicate a .364 BABIP and .290 batting average on a consistent basis.

    He had the second highest rookie wRC+ of the last 114 years, 170, just four points lower than Aaron Judge’s debut wRC+, and the highest for a left-handed rookie in modern baseball. He finished the season as the #4 fantasy first baseman despite having 100 or more fewer plate appearances than everyone else inside the top 10. This won’t be the only place you hear this, but he is my #1 first baseman for 2026 and should be drafted within the first 18 to 20 picks.

     SECOND BASE

    Zack Gelof was the presumed 2025 starter, until he fractured a bone in his right hand during spring training, resulting in him missing the first three months of the season. When he was finally recovered, he performed particularly poorly, resulting in a demotion to Triple-A until the end of August, when the A’s called him back up. He was in the lineup until September 19, when he dislocated his left shoulder and would miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair it. Overall, it was a poor season for Gelof, both from the perspective of health and performance, as he hit just .174 with two home runs, one stolen base and a 36 wRC+ over 101 plate appearances.

    Darell Hernaiz, Max Muncy and Max Schuemann all spent time at 2B, none of whom performed very well offensively nor should have been in any kind of fantasy conversation except in the deepest of leagues.

    THIRD BASE

    There was never really any fantasy relevancy being produced at the hot corner for the A’s. Brett Harris, Schuemann, Hernaiz and Muncy all split time at the position, but none stood out or stuck for too long. Unless they address the position in the off-season, the position will probably continue to be a fantasy black hole.

    SHORTSTOP

    Jack Wilson had an electric rookie season after struggling in his cup of coffee in 2024. He finished tied for second place in the American League batting title race, .311, with Bobby Witt, hitting 13 home runs and stealing five bases, with a 121 wRC+. Though Wilson had one of the lowest walk rates in all of baseball, 5.2%, he also posted the second lowest strikeout rate, behind the king of contact Luis Arraez, at just 7.5%. That’s just 39 strikeouts in 523 plate appearances, which is the same number of extra base hits that Wilson had. If it wasn’t for a fractured forearm that he suffered in July and caused him to miss a month of the regular season, he might have had a top 12 season at the position. As it is, he finished as the 17th most valuable shortstop, though he had the fewest amount of plate appearances among the top 20 at the position.

    I expect he could have a few seasons as a top 12 or so fantasy shortstop, with one of the highest batting average floors, but his lack of steals and sub-20 homer power will keep him from creeping into the top two or three floors of the position. I’ll be treating him as a top 15 shortstop and top 20 middle infielder for 2026.


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    October 7, 2025, 2:45 am