Henry Bolte notched his first career multi-homer game on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers, with those two home runs matching or exceeding his home run total in three of the four months he's been in the big leagues. The exception was back in August when he slugged three homers. After Wednesday, he has eight on the year along with 15 steals.

If he puts it all together and taps into that power consistently, he's going to be a superstar. 

At the end of June, we wrote that his speed was masking one big flaw — that his launch angle had actually been -0.6 degrees, meaning he was driving the ball into the ground consistently. He struggled through June to the tune of a .164 average with a .243 OBP.

Since the beginning of August, he has come back around, going 39-for-122 (.320) with five home runs. His launch angle has improved to 0.5 degrees, which is a subtle difference from where it was, but it's also measured across the entire season. His five home runs in the past five weeks are a pretty good indicator something is working. 

Back-to-Back At-Bats Provide Glimpse of A's Future

In the third inning, the A's comeback efforts began with a sharp single from Denzel Clarke, his first big-league hit since April 17. The exit velocity on that ball was 108.6 mph, making it one of the hardest hit balls of the afternoon. It also had a launch angle of four degrees, which made it a one-base hit.

Bolte followed him up with a ball that he hit 108.1 mph to the opposite field, leading to his first home run. That ball also had a launch angle of 34 degrees, which allowed it to travel 404 feet, compared to Clarke's 101. 

These two at-bats are a microcosm of what to watch the rest of the way for the A's. With Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler signed long-term in left and right fields, there isn't exactly room for both of them in an every-day role with the club. 

At the very least, this means that they're playing to determine who will be the starter in center when the 2027 season begins. 

They could also be playing to see which player becomes trade bait during the offseason, as each could fetch some much-needed pitching for the team. Given Bolte's performance and growth in his first season in the big leagues, along with his health, he would appear to be the frontrunner to stay, while Clarke could become trade bait. 

At the same time, Clarke has missed most of the year, so it would be unfair to expect him to make sweeping changes before the end of the season.