Soderstrom's contract was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Friday's game against the Twins.

EDGE Analysis

Soderstrom is as good of a candidate as any to be the face of the Athletics franchise going forward. The 21-year-old lefty hitter has huge raw power and could retain catcher eligibility for several years while playing almost every day at a combination of catcher, first base and designated hitter. Soderstrom, who was selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 Draft, hit .254 with 20 home runs and 59 RBI in 69 games at Triple-A. There could be some initial growing pains with strikeouts and a low batting average, but Soderstrom has a chance to contribute positively in the four non-speed roto categories during his prime years.

The Athletics will call up Soderstrom from Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday, Chris Correa of the Turlock Journal reports.

EDGE Analysis

Soderstrom has put up a .254/.303/.536 slash line with 20 home runs over 69 games with Las Vegas this season while splitting his time between catcher and first base. The top prospect is expected to see most of his action with Oakland at first base and perhaps designated hitter, though with Manny Pina aggravating his wrist issue Sunday, Soderstrom could see some action as the team's No. 2 catcher behind Shea Langeliers. He's 21 years old and his numbers in the minors this season were only decent, given the hitter-friendly environments he played in. Still, Soderstrom is a premier talent who should be rostered in most fantasy leagues, especially ones in which he's eligible at catcher.

Soderstrom has three home runs in his last five games for Triple-A Las Vegas and carries an .835 OPS over 221 plate appearances for the Aviators.

EDGE Analysis

Soderstrom continues to put together a convincing case for a promotion during his most extensive stint at the Triple-A level yet. The promising 21-year-old has played slightly more at catcher (27 games) than first base (20 games), and it's the latter where Soderstrom is believed to have a clearer path to playing time at the big-league level. However, rookie Ryan Noda has made a solid case for himself at the position with the Athletics thus far by generating an outstanding .410 on-base percentage and impressive .462 slugging percentage over his first 60 big-league games.

Soderstrom has played more games at catcher (eight) than first base (three) with Triple-A Las Vegas.

EDGE Analysis

He has been roughly league average (97 wRC+) in the early going, as a .267/.346/.511 slash line is par for the course in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. However, the fact that the A's have continued to stress his development behind the dish is noteworthy, as most evaluators view him as the team's first baseman of the future.

The Athletics promoted Soderstrom from Double-A Midland to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

With Midland's season coming to a close Sunday, the Athletics will reward one of their top prospects with a look in Las Vegas, where he could end up spending a large portion of the 2023 campaign. Las Vegas marks the third stop of the season for the 20-year-old backstop, who slashed .265/.324/.509 with 28 home runs across 518 plate appearances between Midland and High-A Lansing.

Soderstrom was promoted to Double-A Midland on Sunday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Soderstrom performed well at High-A Lansing to begin the season, slashing .259/.322/.515 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI and 47 runs over 88 games. The 20-year-old is one of the Athletics' top prospects and has impressed over his first two years in the minors after being selected 26th overall by Oakland in 2020. Soderstrom's defensive abilities lag behind his potential at the plate, but he'll have a chance to prove himself against an increased level of talent.

Soderstrom has generated a .278 average and .889 OPS across 36 plate appearances over his last eight games with High-A Lansing.

EDGE Analysis

The 20-year-old's numbers were in dire straits as recently as May 13, when he carried a .173/.263/.346 slash line over his first 29 games. However, Soderstrom's current surge has seen him lace five of 10 hits for extra bases, a sample that includes another three home runs to push his season total to seven. The promising prospect's 26.0 percent strikeout rate is currently a tick higher than last season's 24.0 percent figure at Low-A Stockton, but he's also been partly victimized by a .223 BABIP.

Soderstrom is hitting just .156/.224/.338 with three homers, 10 RBI and eight runs across 22 games for High-A Lansing.

EDGE Analysis

After wreaking havoc at Low-A Stockton last year, Soderstrom came into 2022 with great expectations and lofty rankings on a lot of prospect lists. However, the 2020 first-rounder has been lost at the plate to open the season, having collected just a single multi-hit game (in which he hit two of his three home runs) while seeing his walk rate sink to 7.5 percent and his strikeout rate climb to an alarming 30 percent. It's worth noting that Soderstrom, who was drafted as a catcher and mostly played behind the plate last year, has been used as the first baseman or DH in five straight games now. It's possible that this year's issues have to do with the strain of catching (which likely was responsible for ending his season prematurely last year) catching up to him. Most analysts agree that his future isn't behind the plate, and perhaps making that move to a less stressful position will lead to better results. He did hit a 111 mph double while starting at first base on Thursday, according to Lansing broadcaster Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, so perhaps that's a sign that he's starting to come around.

Soderstrom reported to minor-league spring training at full health after he was sidelined for the final two months of the 2021 season plus the Arizona Fall League with an oblique strain, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

The injury spelled an early end to an impressive professional debut season for the 20-year-old catcher, who was a 2020 first-round selection. He saw action in 54 games for Low-A Stockton, slashing .306/.390/.568 with 33 extra-base hits and a 10.8 percent walk rate across 254 plate appearances. Soderstrom profiles as one of the top backstop prospects in all of baseball, but his bat remains firmly ahead of his glove at this stage of his development, making it uncertain whether he'll stick behind the plate long term. He's expected to begin the 2022 campaign at High-A Lansing.

Soderstrom was placed on the 7-day injured list at Low-A Stockton on Tuesday because of a back issue, Athletics Farm reports.

EDGE Analysis

Soderstrom hasn't played since July 23. because of a collarbone injury, and it now sounds like he's also hampered by some sort of back problem. The severity of the latest issue isn't clear, so it's not known how long the Athletics expect their top prospect to be on the shelf. The backstop has slashed .306/.390/.568 with 12 homers and 49 RBI across 222 at-bats with Stockton this season.