So far this year, Athletics fans have seen Gage Jump, Henry Bolte, and other youngsters make their big-league debuts. The next one up is Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, the 23-year-old infielder who had one of the best hit tools in the Minor Leagues. He received the call after leading the Pacific Coast League in hits during June.
A Look at Kuroda-Grauer
The Athletics took Joshua Kuroda-Grauer in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft, continuing what was a heavy, New Jersey-focused theme for the organization. The year earlier, the then-Oakland A’s took prepster Steven Echavarria, plus two of Kuroda-Grauer’s teammates from Rutgers: Ryan Lasko & Drew Conover.
Kuroda-Grauer had one of the most dominant seasons among college players in 2024. He finished second in DI in batting average (.428), sandwiched in between big-leaguer Jac Caglianone (.419) and soon-to-be big-leaguer Charlie Condon (.433). He hit over .320 in a brief cameo in pro ball that season, a sign of things to come.
Last season, Kuroda-Grauer slashed .296/.359/.372 with only two home runs but 147 total hits, as well as 27 stolen bases between High-A and Double-A. Kuroda-Grauer hit .301 in 41 Double-A games to round out what was a very good first full pro season.
This year, the 23-year-old pushed to Triple-A after a hot start to 2026. While he showed some pop — he hit at least five homers in all three seasons in Piscataway — Kuroda-Grauer popped six home runs over 33 games in Midland.
He was promoted to Triple-A in mid-May and didn’t stop hitting. As of June 29, his 36 hits were tied with Zac Veen for most hits in the PCL for June (for those wondering, he had just one home run with Triple-A Las Vegas).
In terms of approach, it’s fairly simple with Kuroda-Grauer. Not a lot of bad speed but good bat-to-ball skills. He’s able to poke the ball everywhere, won’t overswing and do too much, and make a lot of contact.
As we noted last year in our 2025 A’s farm review, Kuroda-Grauer hit a lot of ground balls. However, very low swing-and-miss. In that regard, he was one of the best in Triple-A before his promotion to Sacramento.
Defensively, Kuroda-Grauer is a natural shortstop. But this year, he spent significant time at second, third, and short for Triple-A Las Vegas.
The Athletics officially selected the contract of Joshua Kuroda-Grauer on June 29.
Analysis
In the immediate term, Kuroda-Grauer’s promotion comes at an opportune time for both him and the organization. The A’s placed 1B/OF Tyler Soderstrom and SS Jacob Wilson on the injured list, clearing a path for the 23-year-old to pick up some playing time in the Majors.
Obviously, the goal for Kuroda-Grauer is to do exactly what he did in the Minors and fill some holes while Wilson is on the IL. In terms of his game, it’s not all that different from Wilson’s, as the two are adept at making consistent contact.
Now, from a long-term view, Kuroda-Grauer has some room to carve out a role in the future Athletics infield, either at second base or third. Arguably, that could be in a utility role where he fills out the Athletics’ lineup in the bottom half as a “get on base by any means” guy.
High floor ceiling player. However, don’t expect much in the way of pop.
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