This was becoming clear even before the four homer game. His OPS was .982, for crying out loud. He had homered seven times in his previous 16 games. The gasps and whispers had already started.

Nick Kurtz had quietly been one of the most exciting players in baseball since his arrival. On Friday night against the Houston Astros, he turned up the volume

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics has become the first rookie in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game.