Oakland A's second baseman Zack Gelof swings at a pitch during the A's 7-4 spring training defeat of the San Francisco Giants at Hohokam Stadium on Feb. 28, 2024 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by John Medina)
MESA, Ariz. – After being named MLB’s rookie of the month last August in his first full month as a major leaguer, Zach Gelof is continuing his hot streak in spring training, driving the ball to all parts of the field.
As the A’s have had a ton of moving parts throughout the last few seasons, Gelof looks to be the second baseman of the future for the team, a role manager Mark Kotsay is cognizant of as Gelof enters his first full season.
“I think Zach has just picked up where he left off,” Kotsay said. “The year he had last year was pretty remarkable for a player to come in and have that type of impact immediately and I think for us, our focus is to get him out of here healthy and prepare for a season where he potentially has 500 to 600 at-bats.”
In Gelof’s 21 at-bats in spring training entering this week, he leads all of Cactus League with five extra-base hits. The power should come as no surprise for A’s fans, as the 24-year-old finished last season with 14 home runs and 20 doubles in just 69 games.
Double those totals over a typical season of 140 games played, and he would finish just one home run behind Marcus Semien, the 2023 AL home run leader among second basemen who also hit 40 doubles.
But Gelof, the former Virginia Cavaliers standout, is not necessarily concerned about the numbers as much as he is about the process.
“Ultimately, I’m not really worried about (the results),” Gelof said. “For me, it’s staying within the process and trying to dominate what I do every day with my pre-work, and stay super competitive in game.”
Gelof credits his impressive showing in the Cactus League to his offseason work, when he had more time to fine-tune his game. The previous year, his time playing in the Arizona Fall League delayed his offseason until November.
“Going into this offseason and going through the ups and downs of the major league season and getting a taste of it, I just knew I wanted it even more and I want to win with this team,” Gelof said, “and for me that is going after it every day and attacking it and staying within my process to help this team win.”
That process for Gelof includes talking with a coach or veteran player after every at-bat, regardless of the outcome. After adding to his hot spring start with two doubles on Sunday against the Rangers, he was in the dugout talking with first baseman Seth Brown about his approach at the plate.
“It’s just getting everybody on the same page and everyone having the same plan, everyone buying into the approach we want, moving guys on the bases and having team at-bats,” Brown said.
Gelof’s first-inning RBI double found a gap in left-center and his fifth-inning double was sent to the opposite field, an encouraging sign for a young player. The second baseman is clearly a student of the game as he critiques every at-bat and quotes future Hall of Famers.
“I think Miguel Cabrera said something like, ‘When you hit it to the opposite field, it opens up the whole field,’” said Gelof, who has sent all but one of his seven hits to the opposite field this spring. “For me, it’s staying consistent by trying to hit the ball the other way. If they throw it (inside), turn on that, too.”
With the A’s set to open the regular season at home against Cleveland March 28, Gelof will use the rest of his at-bats in spring training to create that consistency.
The A’s aren’t expected to make a huge jump up the standings this year after finishing 2023 with an AL-worst 50 wins, but Gelof aims to contribute to winning in the long term.
“Whenever you’re on winning teams, you want to be available every day to play potentially 162 games and you want to be at your best at the end of the season and the playoffs,” Gelof said.
“That is something that we want to get to at some point and I want to show up every day for my guys and staying on the field is part of that.”
Originally published at Josh Amick