Elephant Rumblings: Soderstrom, Wilson leading the way in April

MLB news roundup

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!

Let’s talk about the A’s best players so far this year: Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson. Both young A’s infielders are currently among MLB’s top 20 WAR leaders, per Fangraphs.

23-year-old Soderstrom tops all Athletics with 1.0 fWAR. The first round pick from 2020 had hitherto failed to play up to his pedigree and high prospect rankings, but at last appears to be finding his rhythm at the plate.

Season stats suffer from small sample bias in April, but so far Sodie is among the very best hitters in the league: he’s tied with Aaron Judge for the most dingers in MLB (6) and is a close second behind the 2024 AL MVP in slugging percentage (.771) and wRC+ (246).

Hitting like a Silver Slugger is one way to silence the trade agitators! It’s also a timely performance surge in terms of Sodie’s job security, since the A’s first baseman in Triple-A, Nick Kurtz, is absolutely crushing it with the Aviators. Tyler has impressed with crisp defense this spring, as well.

Wilson, the A’s top pick in 2023, is a bit behind Sodie in fWAR at 0.7, nearly on pace for 9 fWAR at this very early point in the season. His stats reveal some unsustainable small sample results, such as a walk rate of zero coupled with an on-base percentage of .396, which equals Jacob’s batting average. But if you’re watching the games, you know the A’s rookie shortstop is a legitimate disruptor par excellence at the plate—that jittery stance would drive me bonkers if I had the misfortune of pitching to the A’s recently graduated No. 1 prospect.

Wilson trails only George Springer in the race for the MLB batting title. The Jays’ outfielder is batting a bonkers .429, but that’s coupled with an astronomically lucky BABIP of .552 that assures us Springer’s numbers will not hold for long. If Wilson can sustain anywhere near his current slash line of .396/.396/.583 as an everyday shortstop, he will be worth his weight in green and gold—and almost surely take the 2025 AL ROY trophy.

Have a wonderful weekend, AN.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Outfield Defense Is A Problem They Can’t Ignore
• Athletics vs. Mets Series Preview
• More Like Tyler Soder-strong

MLB News & Interest:

• MLB Reportedly Willing To License MLB.TV
• After a historic dropoff, can the Braves’ offense ever get back to its 2023 form? ($)
• Quality control coach? Pitching strategist? In MLB, title inflation is the new norm ($)
• Angels Select J.D. Davis, Place Yoan Moncada On IL, Designate Jack Dashwood
• Here are the most stacked MiLB clubs — one for each organization
• Why I kept Octavio Dotel’s baseball card in my wallet: Meisel ($)
• Ryan Bliss To Miss 4-5 Months Due To Biceps Surgery
• Atkins: Jays Still Hope To Extend Bichette
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

We shall see, sir.