Turlock High alum Tyler Soderstrom called up by Oakland Athletics

Quinton Hamilton
·3 min read
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Welcome to The Show, Tyler Soderstrom.

The Oakland Athletics have called up the Turlock High alum, the team announced Friday afternoon.

Soderstrom, 21, was expected to be in uniform Friday night for the A’s first game back from the MLB All-Star Break in the series opener against the Minnesota Twins at 6:40.

Since being drafted in the first round, 26th overall, in the 2020 MLB Draft fresh out of high school, Soderstrom shot up the Minor League prospect rankings.

In addition to being the No. 1 prospect in the organization, the catcher/first baseman was recently rated the No. 34 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline.

This season, Soderstrom showed his offensive skill set at Triple-A Las Vegas, leading the Aviators with 20 home runs and adding 15 doubles, 59 RBIs and a .839 OPS in 69 games. He participated in the All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle last week, his second Futures Game.

American League Futures first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (21) of the Oakland Athletics hits a single against the National League during the second inning of the All Star-Futures game at T-Mobile Park.
American League Futures first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (21) of the Oakland Athletics hits a single against the National League during the second inning of the All Star-Futures game at T-Mobile Park.

He began his pro career in Low-A Stockton, where in 57 games with the Ports, he batted .306 with 68 hits, 20 doubles, 12 home runs and 49 RBI. During his second minor league season, he quickly jumped from the High-A Lansing Lugnuts to Double-A Midland RockHounds to Triple-A Las Vegas. In 134 games, he tallied 135 hits, 21 doubles, an eye-popping 29 home runs and 105 RBI with a .276 batting average.

He is not the first member of his family to make it to the big leagues, as his father, Steve, made his MLB debut with the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 17, 1996 against the San Diego Padres. Steve was drafted twice. He was first selected out of Turlock High by the Mets in 1990 in the 15th round but did not sign. After attending Fresno State, he was selected in 1993 sixth overall by the Giants.

“A left-handed hitter, Soderstrom has long displayed an excellent feel for the barrel and solid overall approach at the plate,” reads an excerpt from Tyler Soderstrom’s profile on the Minor League baseball prospects list. “He can make consistent hard contact to all fields, and his combination of strength and bat speed point to the kind of power and run production consistent with his 2022 output, with the ability to hit the ball out to all fields.”

When Soderstrom suits up for the A’s, it will cap the end to an eventful week for Turlock natives chasing their dreams in professional baseball.

On July 9, Soderstrom’s classmate, Cole Carrigg, was taken by the Colorado Rockies with the 65th overall pick, and the next day, Pitman High 2020 graduate Kade Morris was selected 101st overall by the New York Mets.

Turlock High School seniors, from the left, Andy Owen, Tyler Soderstrom and Cole Carrigg signed their National Letters of Intent at Turlock High School in Turlock, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. Owen is heading to USC, Soderstrom is going to UCLA and Carrigg will attend San Diego State.
Turlock High School seniors, from the left, Andy Owen, Tyler Soderstrom and Cole Carrigg signed their National Letters of Intent at Turlock High School in Turlock, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. Owen is heading to USC, Soderstrom is going to UCLA and Carrigg will attend San Diego State.

Carrigg was drafted after his junior season at San Diego State in which he started 41 of 42 games in center field and earned first-team all-Mountain West honors for the second straight year. He posted a team-best .303 batting average and led the team with 24 stolen bases.

Morris, a pitcher who was also drafted after his junior season, made 14 starts and led the Wolfpack in strikeouts (85), innings pitched (81.1) and complete games (2). He shared the team lead in wins and finished with a 4-7 record and had five outings with at least seven strikeouts.

American League Futures first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (21) of the Oakland Athletics hits a single against the National League Futures during the second inning of the All Star-Futures Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, July 8, 2023.
American League Futures first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (21) of the Oakland Athletics hits a single against the National League Futures during the second inning of the All Star-Futures Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, July 8, 2023.