Soderstrom making an impression with bat
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 longerterm future.
Tyler Soderstrom, the A's first-round pick in the 2020 draft who reached Triple-A by the end of last season, is 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 atbats, 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.
• Left-hander J.P. 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.
• Max Muncy, the A's first-round 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.
• Julian Merryweather, a graduate of San Mateo's Serra High and San Bruno's Skyline College, pitched a scoreless eighth for the Cubs. The right-hander appeared in 26 games with the Blue Jaus last season and was claimed off waivers by the Cubs in January.