A’s spring evaluations include long look at top prospects

The A’s already have used 66 different players in barely a week of Cactus League games.

That’s not a big surprise for a team that has a lot of roster decisions to make coming off the second 100-loss season in Oakland franchise history.

The A’s are also getting a good look at their longer-term future.

Eight of the A’s Top 10 prospects (according to MLB.com) are in camp. Several of those players, such as pitchers Ken Waldichuk (No. 2), Kyle Muller (No. 5), outfielder Esteury Ruiz (No. 6) and infielder Jordan Diaz (No. 9), are in the mix to make the Opening Day roster. Others probably won’t arrive in Oakland until later in the season or even 2024, but some of those highly-regarded prospects are already making an impression in Arizona.

Top of the hot-start list– and the A’s prospect list — is Tyler Soderstrom. The A’s firstround pick in the 2020 draft reached Triple-A by the end of last season, but he’s just 21 with one full season of pro ball under his belt, and is almost certain to at least open the season in the minors.

But the Turlock native is having an opening week of camp that has A’s fans talking.

It’s only been four games, but the left-handed hitting catcher/ first baseman had four hits in his first nine at-bats, including a home run. Soderstrom was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in Wednesday’s wild 14-14 tie against the Reds — and he didn’t even enter that game until the fifth inning.

Even without this hot start, Soderstom was a name A’s fans already were somewhat familiar with after he played at three levels last season and hitting 29 home runs with 105 RBIs and a combined slash line of .267/324/.501.

COVID-19 delayed his pro debut until 2021. He hit .306 with 12 home runs and 33 extra-base hits at Class-A Stockton, but was limited to 57 games because of an oblique injury. He opened last season at High-A, but a thumb injury contributed to a slow start. But he ended up hitting 20 home runs to earn a promotion to Double-A, where he hit .278 with eight more home runs in 36 games. He ended last season at Triple-A Las Vegas, going 11for-37 with a home run in nine games.

— Left-hander JP Sears was the first A’s rotation hopeful to make his second appearance of the spring, throwing 20 pitches over three innings in a 6-1 loss to the Cubs on Thursday. Sears struck out four and gave up three runs on five hits. Sears started the A’s Cactus League opener last Saturday against the Diamondbacks and allowed two runs and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings.

The A’s managed just seven hits off Cubs starter Marcus Stroman and seven relievers.

Shae Langeliers had one of those hits, and has hit safely in each of the first three games he’s appeared in this spring. Langeliers, the A’s primary catcher after Sean Murphy was traded to the Braves this winter, is 5-for-9 with a home run and three RBIs.

— Max Muncy, the A’s firstround pick in the 2021 draft, broke up the Cubs’ shutout bid with an RBI double with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Muncy, rated the A’s No. 8 prospect by MLB.com, drove in Cristian Pache, who doubled to lead off the ninth.

— The A’s and Reds called it a draw on Wednesday after the teams combined to score 21 runs over the final three innings. The Reds scored 11 of those, including 10 in the eighth, but the A’s tied the score by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth.

Soderstrom, Pache and Lawrence Butler combined to go 7-for-8, scored five runs and had five RBIs.