If you watch the Oakland Athletics on TV or in person, you probably are thinking to yourself that the team is already playing in Las Vegas. The attendance at A’s games is about right for a Triple-A game (actually, it is probably smaller and in a worse stadium) and the club has seemingly called up its entire Triple-A team, which plays its home games in Las Vegas.
I previously highlighted two Oakland players in Tyler Soderstrom and Mason Miller. I held off on talking about Zack Gelof in order to see him get a few more at-bats. With Gelof now approaching 100 plate appearances, it is time to talk about the rookie second baseman.
His Background
Gelof played high school ball in the baseball hotbed of Rehoboth Beach. If you don’t know where that is, I didn’t either. It is in Delaware, and it is on the beach. Proving that scouts can find you no matter where you play baseball, Cleveland drafted Gelof out of high school in the 39th round of the 2018 draft.
Not surprisingly, Gelof chose not to sign with the now Guardians and instead chose to play at Virginia. As a freshman, he showed what he could do by slashing .313/.377/.397 with two homers, 32 RBI, and 16 steals in 56 games. The 2020 season saw Gelof get off to a great start, slashing .349/.469/.746 (yes, a .746 slugging percentage) with five home runs, 18 RBI, and four steals through 18 games. But then COVID came along and shut the college season down, ending what was looking to be a breakout season for Gelof.
In 2021, Gelof couldn’t quite match what he was doing during his sophomore year, but he still had a solid season, slashing .312/.393/.485 with nine dingers, 41 RBI, and 12 steals in 63 games. Thought to be a possible first-round selection, Gelof fell into the second round, which is when Oakland selected him and wasted no time in getting him used to professional baseball.
Starting with a Bang
| YEAR | LEVEL | G | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-21 | NCAA | 201 | 151 | 37 | 140 | 43 | .292 | .381 | .503 |
| 2021 | A|AA|AAA | 36 | 30 | 7 | 30 | 13 | .333 | .422 | .565 |
| 2022 | AA|AAA | 96 | 61 | 18 | 66 | 10 | .270 | .352 | .463 |
| 2023 | AAA | 69 | 60 | 12 | 44 | 20 | .304 | .401 | .529 |
| 2023 | MLB | 22 | 15 | 6 | 11 | 6 | .250 | .315 | .560 |
Gelof was sent to Rookie ball after signing with the A’s, where he lasted a whole one game (2-for-3 with two RBI and two steals) before being promoted to Class A Stockton. There he appeared in 32 games and slashed .298/.393/.548 with 26 runs scored, seven round trippers, 22 RBI, and 11 steals in 13 attempts.
Gelof also appeared in three games at Triple-A Las Vegas, slashing .583/.615/.667 with six RBI in 12 at-bats. To say Gelof had a productive first year as a pro is an understatement.
The right-handed hitter split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing a combined .270/.352/.463 with 18 homers, 66 RBI, and 10 steals. Most of that damage was done at Double-A, where he hit 13 homers and drove in 61 runs with nine steals while slashing .281/.356/.438 in 87 games.
Right Place, Right Time
Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Oakland system by MLB Pipeline, Gelof started this season in Las Vegas and mashed the ball to the tune of 60 runs, 12 homers, 44 RBI, and 20 steals in 69 games while slashing .304/.401/.529. While already 23 years old, Gelof may still be stuck in Triple-A if he played for another organization. But Gelof plays for Oakland, and they have completely bought into the rebuilding plan they seem to always be starting.
So on July 14, he made his MLB debut, going 1-for-4 with an RBI and a double. Since then, he has been putting on a power show for the Oakland fans. Through Thursday he had a .560 slugging percentage, smashing six homers to go along with six doubles and one triple. His sixth home run – a 409-foot blast – came on Wednesday against Texas in his 22nd game, making him the fastest player in A’s history to reach six home runs.
Hard Hit Machine
Gelof doesn’t have a great batting average right now, but .250 isn’t going to kill you, nor is his .315 OBP. Gelof also currently sports a 29.4% strikeout rate (22.8% is MLB average) and his 7.6% walk rate is 1% below the MLB average. So there are still some things to work on when it comes to his game at the plate.
But the reason you should go after Gelof is the fact he just hits the ball hard, thanks to a quick swing that allows him to turn on instead pitches like this. Entering Friday night, he had a .560 slugging percentage for Oakland. His average exit velocity sits at 92.2 mph, way above the MLB average of 88.6 mph, and his 14% barrel rate dwarfs the MLB average of 6.9%.
When it comes to hard hit percentage and line drive percentage, the MLB averages are 39.6% and 24.0%. Gelof is currently at 45.6% and 29.8% respectively. He also rarely hits the ball weakly on the ground as he sports a 36.8% fly ball rate. The MLB average is 26.3%. Thus, when you break it down mathematically for Gelof, hard hit % + high line drive % + high fly ball % = high slugging percentage. Who doesn’t like that?
And Gelof is not just a pull hitter when it comes to his power. Two of his homers, including this blast, four of his doubles, and his triple have gone to the opposite field. Overall, 10 of his 21 hits have gone to the opposite field.
Sneaky Speed, Iffy Arm
Gelof isn’t blessed with great speed. However, he is an above average base runner, especially when it comes to stealing bases. In college, he stole 32 bases in 39 attempts. He then added another 43 steals in 52 attempts in the minors. And so far with the A’s he is 6-for-7 in the stolen base department.
While Gelof has enough speed to help your fantasy team, he is likely to be staying at second base with Oakland. He has played some outfield and third base in the past, but past arm injuries will likely keep him anchored to second. But I’m perfectly fine with that as his bat adds pop to a position that sometimes lacks power.
In Closing…
Gelof didn’t enter the season ranked as a top 100 prospect, and when looking at fantasy leagues, there are a lot of fantasy players who are not buying Gelof and his start. He is currently rostered in only 6% of ESPN leagues, 19% of Yahoo leagues, and 55% of Fantrax leagues.
I obviously think those owners are missing the boat. I started the season with Gelof rostered as a prospect in several of my dynasty leagues, though I just traded him in one league for Justin Verlander thanks to Shane McClanahan going down for the rest of the season.
Gelof doesn’t have any glaring holes in his swing and brings an offensive game to the second base position. He may not be a 30-homer player (though he could turn into one in the dry air in Las Vegas when the team moves there), but he will be a 20 to 25 homer player with double-digit steals and a nice slugging percentage. Those are three areas any dynasty player should want a player to produce, and Gelof is that player.
