Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

American League Slugger Is on Pace for 76 Home Runs, and It’s Not Aaron Judge

Tyler Soderstrom, take a bow!

Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

If you had Tyler Soderstrom as the early front-runner for the home run crown in 2025, step forward and collect your prize. Because while the baseball world waited for Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani, it’s the 23-year-old Athletics slugger who’s launching balls out of the park.

So darn strong 😤

Will Tyler Soderstrom be the first to 10 HR?! pic.twitter.com/LBCike43SV
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2025

Tyler Soderstrom crushed his ninth home run of the season on Thursday, a 374-foot shot off a 3-2 slider from White Sox reliever Brandon Eisert. The solo blast, which landed neatly in the A’s bullpen, put him back atop the MLB leaderboard, just half an hour after Seattle’s Cal Raleigh had momentarily tied him with eight.

But more importantly, the homer was his first off a left-handed pitcher in the big leagues. A small milestone, sure, but part of a much bigger transformation. “Lefty-lefty is never easy,” Soderstrom said. “I was able to grind it out, get to a 3-2 count and he left a slider over the middle. I was able to put a good swing on it and it went out of the park.”

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What’s happening with Soderstrom isn’t just a hot start. It’s a potential coming-of-age moment for a player the A’s have long believed in. Taken 26th overall in the 2020 Draft, he showed flashes last season, but nothing like this. He’s already matched his 2024 home run total in just 19 games.

This is only the fifth time in history a player age 23 or younger has hit nine home runs in his team’s first 19 games of a season. The others are Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper, Austin Kearns, and George Scott.

The Athletics, despite a rocky 2-7 start at home and some sluggish performances from key names like JJ Bleday and Brent Rooker, are now 9-10 and showing signs of life. Their offense has picked up, and Soderstrom is the pulse. “Every at-bat is competitive. Every mistake seems to be hit 105 miles an hour,” Rooker said after the Athletics’ 8-0 win Thursday, where he also homered. “I think it’s kind of the ability that we all knew Sode had. We all saw it coming. It’s been fun to watch him come into his own.”

Soderstrom’s development isn’t just about power, it’s the quality of his contact and his approach. On Thursday, his home run wasn’t even his hardest-hit ball. He also scorched a 106.5 mph groundout, a 105.3 mph lineout, and another grounder at 100.3. That’s four balls over 100 mph in a single game. He’s barreling everything. He’s seeing pitches better. He’s adjusting within at-bats.

There’s a roster wrinkle looming, though. Soderstrom’s moved from catcher to first base full-time. But Athletics’ top prospect, Nick Kurtz, the No. 4 overall pick last year, is also a first baseman, and he’s currently torching Triple-A pitching. Eventually, something will have to give. Brent Rooker, usually the designated hitter, has already spent a game in right field, hinting at possible positional shuffling ahead.

But that’s a problem for later. Right now, the A’s have one of baseball’s most exciting hitters, and a reason to watch every time he steps to the plate.

Tyler Soderstrom is on pace to hit 76 home runs this season, which would break Barry Bonds' MLB record pic.twitter.com/ws9TfVJ4iB
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 17, 2025

Yes, it’s early. Yes, nobody actually hits 76 home runs. But if Tyler Soderstrom wants to keep us dreaming? So be it.

Athletics

Tyler Soderstrom

Mohsin Baldiwala

mlb

Mohsin Baldiwala is a Master’s student in Journalism and freelance content producer who got hooked on baseball through Seinfeld’s hapless George Costanza. The same reason why he’s a Yankees fan. He writes about sports because he believes it can offer a brief escape from the world’s chaos. Even if that means enduring the heartbreak of the 2024 World Series.