With two outs and runners on first and second base in the bottom of the first inning in Friday evening’s matchup between the Oakland Athletics and Minnesota Twins, 21-year-old Tyler Soderstrom came to the plate to face pitcher Kenta Maeda, with the song “Superhero” by Metro Boomin’ and Future blaring throughout the Oakland Coliseum.
Serving as the designated hitter for the A’s, who achieved the second-worst record (25-67) in all of baseball in the first half of the year, Soderstrom swung and missed at the first pitch he saw, an 83-mile per hour splitter. He fouled out to deep right field on the second offering. And although he would have liked a better result, he made history in becoming just the seventh alumnus of Turlock High School to play in Major League Baseball.
And although he wasn’t quite Oakland’s “superhero” to save their dwindling season in his first action as a big leaguer – going 0 for 3 with a walk in their 5-4 loss due in part to a two-run, go-ahead blast by Joey Gallo in the ninth inning – Soderstrom, the 34th ranked prospect in all of baseball and the Athletics’ top ranked according to MLB Pipeline, offers hope to a loyal A’s fanbase, who chanted his name to the beat of drums in right field during pregame warmups.
Soderstrom was informed he was being called up to the big league roster on Wednesday morning while at his home in Turlock. His manager at Triple-A Las Vegas, Fran Riordan, gave him a call to deliver the news. The Turlocker had spent the first 69 games of the 2023 season with Riordan and the Aviators, where he slashed .254/.303/.838 with 71 hits, 20 home runs and 59 RBI over 280 at-bats.
“I felt like I was swinging good [in Las Vegas], but I always think I can be doing better,” Soderstrom said. “Honestly, [I] never expected to be called up during the All-Star break, I always thought it would happen some other way. I was in Seattle for the Futures Game [on Saturday], I flew home on Sunday morning into Turlock, so I was close. I just drove up last night.”
His father, Steve, a former Bay Area big leaguer himself with the San Francisco Giants in 1996, described the feeling as “surreal” when his son told him the news.
“Being 21 and getting here at such a young age is pretty impressive,” he said. “This is a great organization… It’s so exciting.”
A group of about 20 family and friends came through the Coliseum gates early to watch Soderstrom take batting practice, with some hopping on the field to take photos with him.
Also on the field prior to the game was former A’s pitcher and current broadcaster Dallas Braden, a native of Stockton.
“I'm really excited about Tyler,” he said. “He's been making a lot of loud noise down in Vegas, and it's exciting that he has the opportunity to make some loud noise at the big league level. And it's awesome that it's just a small commute away from home.”
But the Turlock native wasn’t the only one who had his big league dreams come true on Friday, 23-year-old second baseman Zack Gelof, who Soderstrom considers as one of his good friends, was also on the field. Gelof was informed on Wednesday that he would be called up. In fact, the Delaware native admitted he was asleep and his phone dead at his home on the shore, initially missing the news of his promotion. When he recharged his phone, a snapchat from Soderstrom broke the news to him.
“It's amazing to be here with him,” Gelof said.
Gelof finished his night going 1 for 4 with an RBI double in the third inning.
“It's special that we get to share this day,” Soderstrom added. “And hopefully many more days.”
A’s general manager David Forst explained that the decision to call up both Soderstrom and Gelof had been discussed for quite some time amongst those in the front office.
“The minute you draft a Soderstrom or a Gelof, you think about the moment they’re going to get here in Oakland. And for them, it’s come quicker than a lot of guys,” Forst said. “I saw them both in Vegas a couple weeks ago… The All-Star break gives a nice turning point [and] pivot to bring both guys up.
“Tyler hit 20 homers down there in the first half, so there’s no reason to think he wasn’t ready for this challenge,” Forst continued.
Soderstrom, Gelof and the rest of the new-look Athletics will be back in action against the American League Central-leading Twins (46-46) on Saturday at 4:07 p.m. PST. The series concludes on Sunday at 1:07 p.m. PST, where Stanislaus State alumnus Joe Ryan is expected to take the mound for Minnesota. The homestand will continue through July 19 when a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox wraps up.
