Tyler Soderstrom and the quest for consistency
Tyler Soderstrom has certainly made his presence felt in the Oakland A’s system. Despite losing development time due to the pandemic canceling the 2020 minor league season, he hit the ground running in his first professional season last year. That performance made him a consensus top 100 prospect heading into 2022, one of the hoped-for building blocks for the future.
His performance this season has moved him further up those boards, as he is ranked as MLB.com’s 36th best prospect in their midseason update. His overall performance has been solid as he has posted a .245/.308/.469 batting line in his 315 plate appearances entering Wednesday, hitting 14 homers and 16 doubles.
Tyler Soderstrom still looking for consistency
Those numbers do not tell the full story. He struggled during the early part of the season as he adjusted to the new level of competition. Soderstrom also battled a thumb injury which led to his spending most of his time at first, the second consecutive season that he has been dinged up. That has led to his struggles to find consistency at the plate.
It is something that he is aware of. Soderstrom told Kevin Henry at Call to the Pen that staying healthy is the key to his being able to truly unlock his potential.
“I just have to stay healthy. The key is to stay on the field and get the reps you need to move through the system,” Soderstrom said. “The biggest focus for me this offseason was trying to stay as healthy as I could during this season and it’s been going good so far.”
That is going to be the key. Soderstrom has all the physical tools to be a star. As his manager, Phil Pohl said, “When you look at him, everything you want to see on paper, he has in person. He’s a big body guy. He’s physical and he has an easy swing that absolutely launches baseballs. That’s something you love to see as a coach, as a scout, or as a front office guy.” All that needs to happen is for Soderstrom to stay healthy.
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Tyler Soderstrom is looking to find consistency as he continues to move through the Oakland A’s system. Better health may be the key.