Tyler Soderstrom hits first MLB homer

Martín Gallegos

LOS ANGELES -- Tyler Soderstrom has been dealing with expectations his whole life. As the son of a former first-round pick, attention always followed, from routinely facing older competition as a youth to getting selected 26th overall out of Turlock High School in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Throughout it all, Soderstrom has lived up to the hype at each level. So when he received his first call to the Majors last month carrying the credentials of Oakland’s No. 1 prospect and the baseball's No. 32 overall prospect, per MLB Pipeline, an extremely high bar was set.

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It might not have materialized as quickly as he wanted, but Soderstrom had shown flashes of the game-changing hitter the A’s project him to be. He entered Thursday night having collected at least one hit in four of his past five games.

Then, in Oakland’s 8-2 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, Soderstrom finally showed off that impressive power, launching an eighth-inning solo shot off Emmet Sheehan for his first Major League home run.

“It was really special,” Soderstrom said. “To hit one at Dodger Stadium in front of a lot of fans for my first one is pretty cool. Mookie Betts getting the ball back for me was pretty awesome, too. Shout out to him. It’s definitely one to remember.”

Having crushed 20 homers in 69 games at Triple-A Las Vegas this season, Soderstrom earned the nickname “Moon Man” from teammates for his propensity to slug majestic shots. Fittingly, his first in an A’s uniform was a no-doubter. He turned on a 2-2 fastball from Sheehan and sent it a projected 414 feet, into Dodger Stadium’s right-field pavilion seats.

According to Statcast, Soderstrom’s home run would have gone out in all 30 Major League ballparks.

“Obviously, through the Minor Leagues, he’s been known to drive the baseball out of parks,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s been battling. To have his first home run at Dodger Stadium, it’s a special moment for Tyler.”

It can be difficult for a young player to handle early struggles at this level, particularly when another fellow rookie, A’s No. 3 prospect Zack Gelof, has been thriving. Gelof, called up on the same day as Soderstrom, also homered Thursday in L.A. -- his fourth in his past six games.

For Soderstrom, the challenge is enhanced by the fact that he also has to juggle scouting reports and the other duties that come with being a catcher, while simultaneously trying to comprehend at the plate how pitchers are dissecting his strengths and attacking his weaknesses.

Only 14 games into his big league career, Soderstrom’s sample size is still small. Over the past week, however, A’s hitting coach Tommy Everidge has been encouraged by the rookie’s ability to adapt and make adjustments.

“He’s slowing the game down a little bit more lately,” Everidge said. “It’s just a learning curve. We know the dominant hitter he can be. Sometimes, when things speed up on you up here, you don’t quite feel that way. But there’s no doubt he’s going to hit. … End of the day, if he’s ready for his pitch, he’s good.”

Both Soderstrom and Gelof homering in the same Major League game is something the A’s envision happening more often in the coming years. The two are viewed as potential franchise cornerstones. Those kinds of positives, along with solid outings from their young starters like JP Sears, who limited a potent Dodgers offense to two runs in five innings, are what the A’s are focused on seeing over these final two months of a rebuilding 2023 campaign.

“That’s awesome for Tyler getting his first,” Sears said. “I know he’s been working really hard the past two weeks since he’s been here. In his book, not playing how he wants to, so it’s good to see him get that first homer off his back.

“Zack continued to do what he’s been doing. I’m excited to watch both of them. They’re very competitive guys and great teammates. I’m excited to play with them a lot in the future.”