Taking Sacramento by "Soderstorm": The emergence of Tyler Soderstrom

In recent years, the A’s have not been known for their player development. They’ve gone through a deep rebuilding process since their 2020 playoff berth, bottoming out at 112 losses in 2023.

But in 2024, a core of exciting position players began to emerge. Brent Rooker nearly smacked 40 homers in a 5.6 WAR season. J.J. Bleday took the reins as the everyday center fielder and owned an OPS+ of 120.

Shea Langeliers popped 29 home runs as a power-hitting catcher. Right fielder Lawrence Butler was the big story, as he tore up big league pitching to the tune of an .807 OPS coupled with 18 stolen bases without being caught stealing, making his money with a huge second half of the season.

A player who flew largely under the radar was Tyler Soderstrom, a catcher/first base hybrid. After a grueling first season in Oakland, which saw him hit just .160 with a -1.1 WAR over 45 games, he found some success in 2024, tallying a .743 OPS and nine homers with an uptick in playing time.

This year, he’s already matched his 2024 home run total in around 100 fewer plate appearances. His triple slash line of .298/.362/.643 has likely surpassed anyone’s wildest expectations for the 23-year-old.

The under-the-hood numbers have always been strong for Soderstrom. Even in his awful 2023 season, he swung the bat hard, with an above-average bat speed of 73 mph. In 2024, that number bumped up to 74.4 mph.

His 2024 average exit velocity, barrel percentage and hard-hit percentage were all comparable to some of Major League Baseball’s elite sluggers. He also possessed the ability to take a walk, a highly coveted skill among talent evaluators.

This season, his already-strong underlying metrics have gotten even stronger. The only hitting metric in which he ranks below the 50th percentile is his whiff percentage of 27.5%, which still isn’t high enough to become alarming.

Simply put, Soderstrom has been hitting the ball extremely hard. More specifically, he’s hitting the ball extremely hard in the air to the pull side. Seven of his nine home runs have been hit to right field.

He has talked about how eliminating his high leg kick at the plate and instead trying to get his lead foot down as early as possible has led to his success.

He credits teammate J.J. Bleday for urging him to try this, and the results have been undeniable. Shohei Ohtani is another player whose film he’s reviewed in his attempts to simplify his swing and approach at the plate, a player whose swing is certainly worth emulating.

Soderstrom has been on another planet this season, as he’s tied for the league lead in home runs while carrying a 1.005 OPS, which ranks 10th in baseball. That number is higher than those of noted stars such as Kyle Schwarber, Cal Raleigh and even Ohtani.

If Soderstrom can continue to limit his strikeouts and stick to his approach, it seems as though the A’s have struck gold with their young lefty.

Dominick Pizzelanti is a second-year dual-majoring in broadcast journalism and Spanish. To contact him, email dqp5565@psu.edu.