Nick Bolte In The Next 48 Hours

I call him, Insane Bolte. BOOM! The pun boom reverberates through the home, and the walls shake. I brace myself in the BarcaLounger where I sit. After a few moments, the pun rattle calms, then a scream from the kitchen, Cougs yells, “Aftershock!” I grab the arms of the BarcaLounger, the pun boom is coming back through. My lips flap and my beautiful, thick hair moves slightly, but stays well-coiffed. The pun boom recedes. So, the A’s called up Henry Bolte and I grabbed him everywhere, I’ll explain why. He was just in Itch’s prospect stash list. (Itch is so good at this, man. He calls these stashes moments before they happen on the weekly. I’m being sincere, we are lucky. I’m about to stash everyone else on his list because he doesn’t miss.) Itch just said there, “With 12 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a slash line of .348/.418/.658, Bolte is probably the #1 player for Triple-A fantasy leagues. He’s also cut his strikeout rate ten percentage points from the 32.6% he posted in 34 Triple-A games last year. He’s not on the 40-man roster, and the team has plenty of bats. They’re in first place, by the way, which I think gives him a chance to come up earlier than he might have if they were already underwater, and I want to push Grey under water.” Hmm, not cool. A’s have to be done with Butler to a certain extent. They didn’t add Bolte to the 40-man to just let him whither on the bench. The cutting of Bolte’s Ks in the last year really stands out here. Henry Bolte was a 15/46 in minors in 2024, but it was with a 34.7 K% and that would’ve never worked. Now, let’s say, he went 15/46 with a 28% K-rate? That would be Insane Bolte! [a window shatters and my wall-mounted TV falls] Anyway, here’s what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:

A.J. Ewing – Called up by the Mets. Butler becomes Bolter? Maybe, I don’t know what they’re doing with Butler. My hope is the A’s called up a guy to the 40-man, they’re intent on playing him. I mention this again, because what are the Mets doing with Ewing? I get they can push Soto to DH now, and that plays for a while, until Polanco, Luis Robert or Lindor return, but one of those three will return, right? Then what? I don’t know, but just speaking thoughts aloud here. Okay, thinking more, I guess if Ewing is great, Baty and Vientos can return to platooning and who cares about Polanco, who was a mistake signing to begin with? Yeah, maybe. Okay, that’s the biggest issue I have with Ewing. Everything else is gorge. This year: 2/17/.339 in a month of Triple-A. Last year (and here it gets ridiculous), 3/70/.315 in 485 ABs. So, he’s Chandler Simpson at worst, but he could have some pop too, eventually. He’s only 21. I think Bolte over Ewing right now, just because more pop, and better stadium with Bolte, but it could go either way, and I grabbed both in some leagues.

Mookie Betts – 1-for-5 as he was activated from the IL. Kevin from ESPN’s “Get Him In Your Lineup” Department said, “I have jury duty. Do you know if I get free hotel movies if I get equestrian’d?”

Max Muncy – 2-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 11th homer, and 2nd homer in two games. Max is the Munciest!

Roki Sasaki – 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 5.88. This is gonna blow your mind but watch how accurate I am at predicting the future. This October, Joe Davis is going to say, “Here comes Roki out of the pen for the 7th inning. Because the Dodgers didn’t need to win 120 games, but only 100, they decided to let Roki start for 20 games this year, then was moved to the pen in September to prepare for the playoffs.”

Harrison Bader – 1-for-5 as he was activated from the IL. When I was a kid, I’d get some mail addressed to Master Albright. Wonder if Harrison ever did. (Mail, for those younger than 30, was email in a box outside your house. For those younger than 20, email was a DM in a mail client. You know what, forget it.)

Rafael Devers – 2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 RBIs and his 5th homer, 3rd homer in a week, and nothing’s hotter than Devers in May, and nothing’s colder than Devers in April, and nothing’s lukewarm and at times hot as Devers in June and July, then in August he’s…anyone have Devers’s August temperature?

Trevor McDonald – 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 11 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.92. With Webb gone for two weeks, McDonald should get another turn or two, and he had a 5.31 ERA in Triple-A in 142 1/3 IP last year. Sure, ERA isn’t everything but 5.31 in 142 2/3 IP might be something.

Ha-Seong Kim – Activated from the IL. Kinda like Kim, like a young Eminem, but I also might be clouding my general perception that everything the Braves touch this year turns out for the better, except Riley and Acuña. Hmm, those are two pretty big exceptions. Kim’s mostly a 15-team mixed league MI and deeper, but it wasn’t that long ago he was excellent in the shallowest of leagues.

Joey Cantillo – 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 4 Ks, ERA at 2.98. I like Cantillo, he’s solid, but this was absolutely a case of a huge early lead and Cantillo cruised out to the Ivictory Coast for a free night at the W.

Alek Manoah – 5 IP, 0 ER, in his first extended work in the majors in years. He came in late to the game, and, with his first pitch, the Angels were already down 7-0. He must’ve felt at home! Okay, so Manoah looked solid, but I can’t tell if it was the Guards stopped trying because they had the win in the bag or it was his pitching. Like a teamster, I’m actually leaning on the latter. But need to monocle further.

Addison Barger – Hit the IL, had a cortisone shot and could miss a few weeks with elbow inflammation, because he thought he was Nolan Ryan in right field. Story as old as time.

Kevin Gausman – 4 2/3 IP, 6 ER, ERA at 3.86. Ugh, you were my one normal starter. You failed me, Kevin. That’s why you were left home alone.

Andres Gimenez – 2-for-4, 5 RBIs and his 4th and 5th homer. “Damn it! Bolte?!” That’s Gimenez after refreshing Razzball dot com to see himself as the lede. Sorry, Andres, but you are an automatic hot schmotato.

Jonathan Aranda – 2-for-3, 2 runs, 3 RBIs and his 8th homer, hitting .277. Really highlights how terrible Vlad Jr. has been when the Jays are facing the Rays’ Aranda. I must have more slow starters than anyone — Vlad Jr., Soto, the Italian Royals.

Drew Rasmussen – 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.16. Wow! The first time ever Rasmussen’s ERA is over 3.00. I’m sorta joking, but not really.

Julio Rodriguez – 2-for-4 and his 7th homer, hitting .277. Guys and five girl readers, JRod is on pace for a 40/40/.300 season if he’s hitting this well before June. Yes, this is well for him!

George Kirby – 5 IP, 1 ER, 9 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 2.84. Randomly, I saw Kirby Yates yesterday enter the 3rd inning and throw a bunch of meatballs, get hit hard and I thought, “George Kirby isn’t that bad, and this thought is pretty unrelated to Kirby Yates,” but Kirby hasn’t really been that good. Either, actually. George Kirby is passably good, but much worse than at any point previously in his career, while seemingly better, if you just look at his ERA.

Peter Lambert – 7 IP, 3 ER, 7 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 2.76. Astros’ one shining star…is on their old unis! Boom, roasted! Got their ass! No, Lambert’s been fine. Pitching about as well as a number five to six starter. Decent enough Ks, little bit meh walks, and, if nothing else, worth a Streamonator call.

Nathan Eovaldi – Scratched with side soreness. Welp, that’s almost definitely going to be a three-week absence, isn’t it? You know I love Eovaldi, but Skip Schumaker can’t tie his cleats because he needs to use kid gloves with Eovaldi.

Michael Soroka – 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.53. I keep saying Soroka has some of the best underlying numbers in baseball, and I think people are still not believing me to the point where I think you could likely buy him from an owner, who doesn’t trust him.

Jose Caballero – Hurt his middle finger, one of the most important fingers in New York, so Anthony Volpe might be on his way back, but Caballero entered the game as a pinch-runner, so he might be okay. Too early to say.

Ryan Weathers – 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 baserunners (3 BBs), 9 Ks, ERA at 3.00. I might be misremembering this, but I feel like Weathers has had more wins blown than anyone else. Will be investigating a conspiracy by Aaron Ashby to lead MLB in wins.

Ben Rice – 2-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 13th homer, hitting .312. Rice-A-HRoni!

Coby Mayo – 1-for-2, 3 RBIs and his 4th homer, hitting…guess. Go ahead! How rancid is that Mayo’s hitting for average? Get within twenty points! C’mon! Bzzt, wrongo! He’s hitting .165.

Samuel Basallo – Scratched with a sore knee. Injured during a lively rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees and–Ows.

Jackson Holliday – Moving his rehab to Norfolk. Ya know, because his dad was playing baseball for a living, Jackson didn’t have time to go on family road trips like some of us, so he’s getting that opportunity now. Very cool! Maybe Jackson can go to South of the Border while he’s down there! A rite of passage!