A's Players Who Came Through the Las Vegas Aviators: The Complete Debut List

Ninety-five players have made their major league debut with the A's and also played for the Las Vegas Aviators, the club's Triple-A affiliate since 2019, according to MLB's official stats database. The list runs from Skye Bolt and Sean Murphy in 2019 to Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson and the six A's debuts of 2026.

That number is a defined list, not a guess. Plenty of other players have worn both uniforms, including veterans who came over from other organizations and big leaguers on short rehab stints. This page sticks to one group you can check name by name: A's debuts who played in Las Vegas. Every name below links to the player's page in our all-time A's player directory.

When Did the Aviators Become the A's Triple-A Team?

The partnership began with the 2019 season. According to the Aviators' official franchise history on MiLB.com, the Las Vegas 51s needed a new parent club and reached a deal with the Oakland Athletics on September 17, 2018. On December 8, 2018, the 51s officially became the Aviators, a name that honors aviation pioneer Howard R. Hughes Jr.

The team also left Cashman Field for the new Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin. MiLB.com says the Aviators led all of Minor League Baseball in total attendance (650,934) and per-game attendance (9,299) in that first season. If you want the full backstory of the franchise before the A's, from the 1983 Stars to the alien logo years, read our history of the Las Vegas 51s.

One gap matters for this list. There was no minor league season in 2020, so no player appears for the Aviators that year. Five players on this list made their A's debut in 2020 anyway. Two of them, James Kaprielian and Jonah Heim, had already played for Las Vegas in 2019. The other three, Vimael Machín, Jordan Weems and Daulton Jefferies, first played for the Aviators in 2021.

How Many A's Players Came Through Las Vegas?

By our count, 95 A's debuts have also played for the Aviators. Here is how the 78 debuts from the Aviators era break down by year:

• 2019: 6 debuts
• 2020: 5 debuts
• 2021: 3 debuts
• 2022: 19 debuts
• 2023: 12 debuts
• 2024: 13 debuts
• 2025: 14 debuts
• 2026: 6 debuts

The 2022 spike stands out. Nineteen players on this list made their A's debut that year, the most of any season. The other 17 players on the list debuted with the A's before 2019 and played for Las Vegas afterward, a group that includes Matt Olson, Mark Canha, Sean Manaea and Ramón Laureano.

Not every player on the list went to Las Vegas first. Some, like Ryan Noda, debuted with the A's on March 30, 2023, and played for Las Vegas later that season and again in 2024. The list counts anyone who did both, in either order.

Which Aviators Alumni Became A's Stars?

Most players on this list had short big league stays. A handful became the core of the team that is heading to Las Vegas. The honors below come from MLB's official awards records.

• Nick Kurtz: played for the Aviators in 2025 and debuted with the A's on April 23, 2025. He won the 2025 Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year Award and an AL Silver Slugger, then made the AL All-Star team in 2026.
• Jacob Wilson: played for Las Vegas in 2024, 2025 and 2026 and debuted on July 19, 2024. He was an AL All-Star in 2025.
• Mason Miller: pitched for Las Vegas in 2022 and 2023, debuted on April 19, 2023, and was an AL All-Star in 2024. He made the NL All-Star team in 2026.
• Shea Langeliers: played for Las Vegas in 2022, 2025 and 2026, debuted on August 16, 2022, and was an AL All-Star in 2026.
• Sean Murphy: one of the original 2019 Aviators, he debuted on May 19, 2019, and won a Rawlings AL Gold Glove in 2021. He was an NL All-Star in 2023.
• Jesús Luzardo: pitched for Las Vegas in 2019 and 2021, debuted on September 11, 2019, and was an NL All-Star in 2026.

Two more pairings show how fast the pipeline moved. Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom made their A's debuts on the same day, July 14, 2023, and Lawrence Butler followed on August 11. In 2026, Tommy White and Yunior Tur both debuted on July 17.

Is There More Than One Jacob Wilson?

ith the A's and also played for the Las Vegas Aviators, the club's Triple-A affiliate since 2019, according to MLB's official stats database.

Yes, and both are on this list. MLB's records show two different players named Jacob Wilson who debuted with the A's and played for Las Vegas. The first, a second baseman born in 1990, debuted on July 10, 2021. The second, the shortstop born in 2002, debuted on July 19, 2024. Our player directory keeps them on separate pages, and the tables below mark each by birth year.

Every A's Debut Who Played for the Aviators, Year by Year

Each table lists the player, the primary position MLB lists for him, the date of his first major league game with the A's, and the seasons he appeared for the Aviators. Positions are MLB's current primary position, which can differ from where a player started.

2019 debuts

2020 debuts

2021 debuts

2022 debuts

2023 debuts

2024 debuts

2025 debuts

2026 debuts

Debuted before 2019, later played for Las Vegas

These 17 players reached the majors with the A's before the Aviators existed, then played for Las Vegas in the years since. Most appear for a single season.

Who Has Played for Both Teams but Is Not on This List?

Anyone who debuted with a different club. JP Sears is a good example. MLB's game logs show his first major league game came with the New York Yankees on April 13, 2022. He played for both the Aviators and the A's later that year, but because his debut came elsewhere, he falls outside this list.

The same rule leaves out veterans the A's added from other organizations and established players who came through Las Vegas on brief assignments. Those players are real Aviators alumni. They just are not A's debuts, and keeping the scope tight is what lets us call this list complete.

Where Can You See the Next Wave?

The next names on this list are playing in Summerlin right now. The Aviators are still the A's Triple-A club at Las Vegas Ballpark, and the big league team will play there too in 2027. Our guide to when the A's play in Las Vegas in 2027 covers those six games, May 31 to June 5, before the move to the A's new ballpark on the Strip, which is targeted for 2028.

For what the move means for the Aviators themselves, see what happens to the Aviators when the A's arrive. To follow which prospects get added, traded or promoted this winter, check our A's 2027 offseason tracker.

How We Built This List

We pulled every player on the Aviators' full-season rosters for 2019 and 2021 through 2026 from the MLB Stats API, then kept the ones with a recorded appearance for Las Vegas. For each, we checked the date of his first major league game and the team he played for in that game's log. Players whose first game came with the A's made the list. We then confirmed every name against Baseball-Reference's Aviators season pages for each year listed.

If you spot a player we missed or a date that looks wrong, the corrections policy on our About page explains how to reach us. We will update this page after each season.

Sources

• MLB Stats API, Las Vegas Aviators (team 400) full-season rosters for 2019 and 2021 to 2026, player records, debut dates, game logs and awards, checked November 4, 2026
• Baseball-Reference, Las Vegas, Nevada minor league team encyclopedia and Aviators season pages for 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026
• Las Vegas Aviators on MiLB.com, franchise history (A's affiliation, Aviators name, 2019 attendance), checked November 4, 2026

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