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This edition of the Athletics Beat newsletter was written by Theo DeRosa.
WEST SACRAMENTO -- Tyler Soderstrom knows just how hard it is to hit in the Major Leagues.
“It’s a big adjustment up here,” the Athletics first baseman said before Friday’s series-opening 6-5 win against the White Sox at Sutter Health Park. “These guys are the best in the world.”
In his first taste of the Majors, Soderstrom found out firsthand. MLB’s No. 39 overall prospect at the time, he struggled after being called up in July 2023, batting .160 with a .472 OPS in 45 games that season and being optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas for 10 days in August.
Soderstrom started 2024 in the Minors, and when he was called up in May, his struggles continued. Through his first 20 games, he was hitting .174 with just one home run, which came in his first contest of the season.
Many hitters would have lost their confidence. Not Soderstrom.
“This game can humble you real quick, so I just try and take it day by day, keep working hard, trusting my process,” he said.
Since that point, Soderstrom has been the same guy -- but his game has taken off.
After closing out 2024 strong, the 23-year-old enters Tuesday tied with Mike Trout for second place in the American League with nine home runs this season, all of which came in his first 19 games. It’s not Brent Rooker or Lawrence Butler who’s been the A’s best hitter (in terms of OPS) in 2025. It’s Soderstrom.
“Sode’s just kind of our anchor right now,” Rooker said. “He’s in the middle of it, driving in a bunch of runs, doing a bunch of damage – so, he’s fun to watch, and we like the lineup that surrounds him as well.”
One key adjustment at the plate has been a major reason for Soderstrom’s success. Midway through 2024, Soderstrom scrapped his leg kick before swinging, allowing him to keep his head down and time up pitches better. It was a technique he learned from teammate JJ Bleday, and it’s been working. (Just ask Shohei Ohtani.)
“It felt good,” Soderstrom said. “Obviously, it’s something that I wanted to keep doing, so it felt good when I started doing it. I just kind of kept with it, kept working on it in the offseason and Spring Training, and now we’re here.”
The results speak for themselves. Soderstrom is pulling the ball in the air almost twice as much as he did in 2023 or ‘24, and that often translates to prodigious power. There’s plenty of red on his Statcast page, too, and that’s a good sign.
Soderstrom’s quality-of-contact metrics this season
• Expected wOBA: .402 (92nd percentile)
• Expected BA: .295 (88th percentile)
• Expected SLG: .588 (94th percentile)
• Barrel rate: 18.3% (94th percentile)
(Note: All stats entering Monday)
A’s fans have seen a more selective Soderstrom this year. He’s chasing pitches out of the zone considerably less than he did in his first two MLB campaigns, and he’s also swung at fewer first pitches -- something he said is a consequence of what he learned from Bleday.
“Offensively, I really like where Tyler’s at,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s got great discipline right now in determining when to swing [and] when not to.”
As far as defensively? According to Statcast, Soderstrom has been one of the poorest defenders in the Majors at first base (-3 Outs Above Average), although catcher Shea Langeliers praised Soderstrom’s defense as “unbelievable” and commended his progress with the glove. With top prospect Nick Kurtz playing first base nearly every day, Soderstrom has recently seen lots of time in left field.
It’s a new challenge, but it doesn’t seem like anything Soderstrom can’t handle. On Sunday against the White Sox, he picked up a key outfield assist in the seventh inning on a strong throw to third base.
“I think if you ask anybody here, anybody would tell you that he’s one of the most talented players on the team,” Langeliers said. “Sometimes it’s just a matter of time. You keep playing the game, you keep getting at-bats and just stay mentally tough, and eventually, it’s going to click. He’s growing up right in front of our eyes, pretty much.”
There will be slumps, of course. Soderstrom has cooled off a bit power-wise, with his last home run coming 10 games ago on April 17.
But his response has said a lot. While he’s not sending balls soaring out of ballparks seemingly every day, he’s still hitting -- he went 2-for-3 on Thursday and 3-for-4 on Friday. The A’s won both games, with Soderstrom being a big reason why.
“That’s kind of the nature of our game, the nature of our league,” Rooker said. “You’ve got to go through those dips, and coming out of those dips is kind of where the confidence is really built. It’s been fun to see him overcome those things.”