Zack Gelof to be Called Up by the Oakland Athletics

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Former Virginia baseball player Zack Gelof (2019-21) will be called up by the Oakland Athletics and is expected to join the club as it begins a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Oakland Coliseum on Friday (July 14).

Gelof is the A’s No. 3 overall prospect according to MLB.com and has spent the entirety of the 2023 season with the Las Vegas Aviators, the organization’s Triple-A affiliate. In 69 games with the Aviators, Gelof his hitting .304 with 21 doubles, 12 homers and 44 RBI while accumulating 20 stolen bases. All but one game this season he has played second base.

Gelof was a second-round pick (60th overall) of the A’s in the 2021 MLB Draft. He will be the seventh player selected in the first two rounds of the 2021 draft make it to the big leagues. Two of the seven first/second round debutants from the 2021 draft are Virginia Cavaliers (Andrew Abbott – Reds).

Should Gelof make his MLB debut, he will become the 31st player to have played for head coach Brian O’Connor to reach the big leagues in 20 seasons. With the addition of Gelof, a total of 55 former Cavaliers will have played in an MLB game.

Gelof occupied third base for the Cavaliers for all 137 possible games from 2019-21 and was a career .319 hitter. As a junior he earned Second Team All-ACC honors and helped the Cavaliers to its fifth College World Series appearance, their first since winning the National Championship in 2015. In three MCWS games, Gelof went 7-for-12 with three runs scored, a home run and two RBI. He led the ACC with 81 hits in 2021 and was tops on the team in eight different offensive categories.

On Sunday (July 9), Zack’s brother Jake was drafted 60^th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2023 MLB Draft. The two brothers were both members of UVA’s 2021 College World Series team.