Hot-hitting Bruce Maxwell gets first A’s callup

On Saturday, the team’s top minor-league catching prospect, Bruce Maxwell, was called up and he will be in the lineup Sunday, catching Jesse Hahn.

Maxwell, the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week last week, was hitting .643 with five homers and 16 RBIs over his past eight games with Triple-A Nashville.

“Unreal - every time you look up, he’s 4 for5, 5 for 5, hitting a home run every game,” Hahn said.

Overall, Maxwell was hitting .321 with 12 doubles, a career-high 10 home runs, 41 RBI and a .539 slugging percentage.

There’s time I’ll yank a pitch and his hands are so good, he’ll make it look like that’s what we were trying to do.

The think that separates him is even on days he’s catching, he’s out there doing whatever we need before the game, stretching with the pitchers, catching flat-grounds - a lot of times, starting catchers don’t do that.

Maxwell told The Chronicle during spring training that he had decided to make baseball his priority last season and he gave up drinking during the winter and started going to the gym twice a day; minor-league coaches and the big-league staff during the spring all remarked on how much he had matured.

Usually, Triple-A Nashville manager Steve Scarsone tries to punk his players a bit when they get their first callup - make them think they’re in trouble, then break the good news instead.

Maxwell, though, was listening to a voicemail on his cell phone detailing his travel itinerary to Oakland when he walked into Scarsone’s office.

The A’s placed catcher Stephen Vogt on the family medical leave list because of a family emergency; manager Bob Melvin, who did not provide specifics, said Vogt will miss three days.

Reliever Fernando Rodriguez (shoulder) was placed on the 60-day DL in order to get Maxwell on the 40-man roster.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Rich Hill will throw a bullpen session Sunday, but with a covering on his left middle finger, left raw after a blister tore off; the team still does not know when he will start next.

Josh Phegley (knee) took batting practice but cannot crouch to catch yet.