The Athletics has announced an agreement with the best selection Tyler Soderstrom. Includes a $ 3.3MM signing bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that Soderstrom would sign today and is expected to add to Oakland’s group of 60 players.
Also under contract was the fifth round Stevie Emanuels. The University of Washington rightly receives a $ 400K bonus. With her signature, the Athletics have completed all their business projects.
Soderstrom, a California high school receiver, received a bonus that weighed about $ 646K north of his slot value at number 26. Emanuels also overreached, and both players earned an additional cash payment that the Athletes saved. signing second round Jeff Criswell and third round Michael Guldberg to offers below the slot.
The Athletics obviously had their eyes on Soderstrom entering the draft. All the top experts in the draft ranked him in the top 25 available players. ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel was particularly optimistic, calling the youngster the 10th best player available due to his promise as a hitter.
While it’s terribly tempting to imagine Soderstrom as the leadoff hitter, there is concern about his ability to develop defensively while maximizing his offensive potential. It remains to be seen what course the Athletics will take, but most scouts apparently believe that Soderstrom is athletic enough, and talented enough with the bat, to handle other areas of the diamond (third baseman or corner field, very probably).
