WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup silver medallist Tyler Sodstrom leads MLB in home runs

WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019 silver medallist Tyler Soderstrom hit two three-run home runs in the Oakland A's 12-3 win against the Chicago White Sox on April 15 and became the Major League Baseball (MLB) home run leader with eight. It was the third multi-homer game for Sodestrom, who, at 23, is now the only player aged 23 or younger to have three multi-home-run games in his team's first 17. The only other player in A's history to accomplish the feat was Reggie Jackson in 1974.

Soderstrom played first base and batted third. He hit his first home run in the first off starter Sean Burke and added against reliever Penn Murfee in the sixth.

"It's pretty surreal," Soderstrom said. "Growing up as a kid, I'd be pretty proud of myself right now. I'm just glad to be in this position. I'm super grateful for this opportunity, and I'm just trying to have a good time and take it day by day."

Soderstrom started all nine games for the United States at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019. He mostly played DH, but started one game at catcher and played parts of three games at first base and one game in right field. He went 10-for-34, a .294 batting average, with 10 RBIs.

At the time, Soderstrom was a high school senior in Turlock, California, his hometown. The Oakland A's drafted him No. 26 overall in 2020, and he received a US$3.3m bonus.

In 2021, he played at the Low-A level. He started the 2022 season at Class A Advanced and the 2023 campaign at the Triple-A level. He made his MLB debut on July 14 2023.

He split his time between DH (18 games), catcher (15 games), and first base (10 games). In 2024, he played 59 games at first base and one at catcher. In 2025, he became the A's everyday first baseman.