A’s No. 1 prospect Soderstrom headlines Lugnuts’ 2022 roster
LANSING, Mich. – No April fooling: The Oakland Athletics’ No. 1 prospect, catcher Tyler Soderstrom, will headline the Lansing Lugnuts’ 30-player Opening Day roster, the Nuts announced Friday. Soderstrom, 20, is rated the No. 56 overall prospect in baseball after batting .309/.390/.568 in 57 games for the Low-A Stockton Ports
LANSING, Mich. – No April fooling: The Oakland Athletics’ No. 1 prospect, catcher Tyler Soderstrom, will headline the Lansing Lugnuts’ 30-player Opening Day roster, the Nuts announced Friday.
Soderstrom, 20, is rated the No. 56 overall prospect in baseball after batting .309/.390/.568 in 57 games for the Low-A Stockton Ports in 2021 and appearing in the MLB Futures Game. The son of former San Franciso Giants pitcher Steve Soderstrom, he was selected 26th overall in 2020 from Turlock High School (Turlock, Calif.).
Tyler Soderstrom is one of five of MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Athletics prospects on the Lugnuts’ roster, joining 19-year-old outfielder Brayan Buelvas (No. 10), the youngest player on the team; 19-year-old Euribiel Ángeles (No. 11), pitcher Joey Estes (No. 19), first baseman/outfielder Lawrence Butler (No. 21); and pitcher Jeff Criswell (No. 22).
Both Butler and Criswell were members of the 2021 Lugnuts, with Butler named the final 2021 High-A Player of the Week after hitting 11-for-22 with two walks in the season’s final six games. The duo is part of a contingent of 12 Nuts returning from last season, accompanying outfielders Lazaro Armenteros, Austin Beck and Jonny Butler; infielders Brett Harris, Patrick McColl and Drew Swift; catcher Jared McDonald;and pitchers Osvaldo Berrios, Stevie Emanuels and David Leal.
Announced on the same day as the World Cup Draw, the 2022 Lugnuts will include players representing Colombia (Buelvas), Brazil (outfielder Gabriel Maciel), Panama (infielder Joshwan Wright), Cuba (Armenteros and pitcher Diego Granado) and Venezuela (pitcher Angello Infante), as well as 14 states and Puerto Rico (Berrios).
The starting rotation is expected to comprise Estes, who was acquired from Atlanta in a four-player package for Matt Olson; Criswell, a native of Portage, Mich., who pitched at the University of Michigan; Emanuels, the A’s fifth-round pick in 2020; southpaw Hogan Harris, Oakland’s third-round selection in 2018; Grant Holman, taken by the A’s in the sixth round in 2021; and Jake Walkinshaw, a 36th-round draftee from Southern New Hampshire in 2019 who ascended to become the ace of Stockton’s rotation by the end of 2021.
Berrios, Granado, Infante and Leal are expected to join fellow 2021 Ports Edward Baram, Joe DeMers, Trayson Kubo, Daniel Martinez and Yale product Kumar Nambiar in the Lugnuts’ bullpen.
The roster includes three catchers in Soderstrom, McDonald and Matt Cross, who played at three different levels in 2021 and bashed a home run over 460 feet with Stockton.
Ángeles (acquired via trade with San Diego shortly before the season for Sean Manaea), Harris, McColl, Swift and Wright are joined in the infield by Jack Winkler, drafted in the tenth round in 2021 from San Francisco.
Lastly, the six Lugnuts who will share outfield duties – Armenteros, Beck, Buelvas, the two Butlers and Maciel – will supply both power and speed, led by Lawrence Butler’s combined 29 steals and 19 home runs in 2021. The switch-hitting Maciel, selected from the Twins in the Rule 5 MiLB draft, only hit two home runs with Cedar Rapids in 2021, but one was a walk-off grand slam against a man who is now his teammate in David Leal.
Headed by first-year manager Phil Pohl, who served as Athletics bullpen catcher from 2016-2021, the 2022 Lugnuts will open up play at Jackson® Field™ against the Michigan State Spartans on Wednesday, April 6, in the Crosstown Showdown presented by Delta Dental, followed by Opening Day on Friday, April 8.
Tickets are available for purchase at the stadium box office, online at lansinglugnuts.com and by calling (517) 485-4500.
# # #
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring