Gelof makes history in his young career

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ST. LOUIS -- Zack Gelof seemingly finds himself making history by reaching feats that have only been accomplished by elite players of years past. His most recent achievement, however, went a step further.

Entering play on Monday, Gelof, rated the A’s No. 3 prospect and No. 94 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, was the first player in the Modern Era (since 1900) to record eight or more home runs and six or more stolen bases in their first 25 games. That is not just an Oakland or franchise record. This is the entire history of Major League Baseball.

Presented with a graphic of the incredible stat on a phone during batting practice at Busch Stadium on Monday afternoon, Gelof responded, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool.’ He took just a few moments to soak it in before continuing his pregame routine. Later that night, he delivered another clutch RBI double against the Cardinals, making it 17 of his first 26 games in which he has notched at least one extra-base hit.

The impressive efforts are racking up quickly. Here’s a look at some of the highlights:

• Since his Major League debut on July 14, Gelof’s 18 extra-base hits are tied for most in the American League.

• Gelof leads the AL with seven home runs since July 28.

• With his two-homer game in Washington D.C. on Sunday, Gelof became only the fourth rookie in Oakland history to homer twice in the same game and fifth in franchise history.

• Since 1901, the only other player with at least six homers and six stolen bases through their first 25 career games is Mitchell Page, who did it in 1977 with the A’s.

Coming into Monday’s series opener against the Cardinals, Gelof’s projection for a full 162-game season had him on pace for an absurd 51 homers, 51 doubles and 38 steals.

What has fueled Gelof’s hot start? For one, he’s just naturally strong, which A’s hitting coach Tommy Everidge noted from the time the second baseman notched his first career hit -- a ball that was not fully barreled, yet still carried enough to hit off the top of the high wall in right field at the Coliseum for a double.

“He’s able to back the ball up good and he’s got tremendous strength to all fields,” Everidge said. “His first hit, when he first hit it, it was like, ‘Oh, that’s a little high.’ But it kept carrying and it’s like, ‘Oh, there’s something special here.’ You hear all these reviews, then you see him in person and it’s like, ‘Man, they weren’t lying.’ He’s impressive.”

Gelof often refers to his approach as an intent to “do damage,” and he is undoubtedly crushing the ball, particularly fastballs. In at-bats ending on fastballs, Gelof is batting .333 with an .825 slugging percentage and averaging an exit velocity of 94.5 mph. Gelof is not quite as dominant against breaking balls, albeit in a smaller sample size, but he is still holding his own with four doubles on breaking pitches.

A lot of Gelof’s success also stems from his intense preparation.

“When he comes in, he’s very focused,” Everidge said. “He knows what he wants to do and what he needs to do for success, and he’s adamant about it. He also kind of gives people a hard time in a fun way. He’ll be like, ‘Come on, you can hit it harder than that.’ It’s just good energy. He’s well-received and he’s carving his own path.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay echoed similar thoughts regarding Gelof, whose 1.3 WAR (per Fangraphs) is tied for the third-highest in the AL since his July 14 debut.

“He’s one of the harder-working guys in that clubhouse,” Kotsay said. "He’s a leader by example. He comes prepared every day and is taking the message that we talked about in Spring Training that, every aspect of your day is important. The preparation and the processes you go through. The routines you can develop. … He’s got some confidence going right now. He’s a student of the game. He studies hard and understands what guys are trying to do to him. He goes up there with a game plan and he’s been able to execute that consistently.”