Aviators catcher, A’s top prospect playing in MLB Futures Game

Tyler Soderstrom would admit he wasn’t the most fundamentally sound catcher coming out of high school when the Oakland Athletics selected him in the first round of the 2020 MLB draft.

But now in his third season making his way up the A’s system, Soderstrom is making progress in those areas in his first full season in Triple-A with Las Vegas. Those around the Aviators’ catcher are noticing his improvements.

“(Soderstrom has) worked really hard on his catching,” Aviators manager Fran Riordan said. “He’s come a long way since I first saw him in 2020. He is so much better in that aspect of the game.”

Soderstrom, the top prospect in the A’s system according to MLB.com, is tied for third in the Pacific Coast League with 20 home runs through Tuesday and is hitting .255 with 58 runs batted in.

He’s emerged as one of the top catchers in minor league baseball and will participate in the 2023 MLB Futures Game on Saturday with some of the top prospects as part of All-Star Week in Seattle.

“I have to trust the process and stick with it,” Soderstrom said. “It’s a long year, and you have to find the positives when you’re not doing too well. You have to stick with it and keep going.”

Soderstrom participated in the event in 2021, his first season of professional baseball. He said it was a great experience.

“I probably didn’t really know what to expect going into it,” Soderstrom said. “It was kind of eye-opening just to be in a big league stadium in front of all fans and be around all those really talented players. It was really fun.”

Soderstrom is coming off a strong effort in June. He hit nine home runs and had 20 RBIs. He said he’s becoming comfortable at the plate with pitchers at this level and how they try to get him out.

Riordan said Soderstrom has “elite power” and a “beautiful swing.” In his time coaching, Riordan said the advanced swing Soderstrom has is “rare to see” in someone so young and believes that will take his hitting to the next level.

Midway through the 2023 season, Soderstrom is acclimating to the daily grind of playing at Triple-A. Aside from his defense, Riordan said he has seen Soderstrom make the biggest improvement in learning to put bad at-bats behind him and not letting it affect the rest of his game.

“He’s much better at being able to compartmentalize individual at-bats, look forward to the next one and not take his at-bats out on the field on defense,” Riordan said. “That’s a really important thing for a young player to learn.”

Soderstrom credited Oakland A’s minor league catching coordinator Gabriel Ortiz for helping with his development as a catcher. Soderstrom said now he’s enjoying the art of catching and building relationships with his pitchers.

“The pitchers have made comments about how they liked throwing to him and how he is learning how they attack batters, their different tendencies, and that goes a long way toward the catcher-pitcher relationship,” Riordan said.

With the big leagues one step away, Soderstrom said he doesn’t feel any pressure from the expectations around him.

For the rest of the season, Soderstrom said he’s focused on being consistent in all areas of the game and trusting the process that he’ll be ready when he gets the call from the A’s.

“When the time is right,” Soderstrom said, “it’s going to be right.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.