MILWAUKEE -- During an appearance on MLB Network¡¯s morning show MLB Central earlier this week, Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom revealed a key contributor to his success while discussing the mechanical adjustments that have helped him ascend to the top as MLB¡¯s home run leader so far this season.
¡°I credit JJ Bleday,¡± Soderstrom said. ¡°He went foot down early and I kind of [learned] after him and took off.¡±
Without getting too deep into the weeds of hitting mechanics, getting his ¡°foot down early,¡± in layman¡¯s terms, was an adjustment to his setup in the batter¡¯s box that involved eliminating his leg kick before swinging and instead getting his foot down earlier, which helps with his timing of pitches and minimizes head movement at the plate.
Bleday began tinkering with his mechanics while on the injured list as he rehabbed from a sprained ACL in his left knee late in the 2023 season. He continued exploring the adjustment during his cage work in the offseason.
The goal for Bleday was to find something he could repeat. Getting his right foot and the rest of his lower half down earlier was the tweak that felt right. After constantly sending videos of his revamped approach to A¡¯s coaches Darren Bush and Chris Cron that offseason, Bleday implemented it in 2024 Spring Training as solely a two-strike approach. Once he saw a steady amount of success, he decided to utilize the ¡®foot down early¡¯ method on a full-time basis.
¡°I got rid of my leg kick because I would feel good one week and then feel like crap the next,¡± Bleday said. ¡°I noticed when I would do this, my head was not moving forward as much. It was easier to control the timing and know when I¡¯m late and when I¡¯m early. It helped to be more consistent.¡±
You could argue Bleday was Mr. Consistent for the A¡¯s in 2024. The center fielder hit .243 with 20 home runs, 60 RBIs and a .761 OPS in 159 games, and his 43 doubles were tied with Al Simmons (1925) for second-most doubles in a season among primary center fielders (min. 50% of games played) in A¡¯s franchise history.
¡°That was huge,¡± Bleday said of the adjustment. ¡°That contact. Even if it¡¯s not a homer or whatever, just putting the ball in play, cutting down on strikeouts, having the walk rate come up. You¡¯re not trying to do that. It¡¯s just the result of seeing the ball and knowing what you want to do and being more consistent toward the middle of the field.¡±
So, how did Soderstrom pick up on the adjustment?
The discussions began last season around May when Soderstrom was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. Bleday and Soderstrom, who often rode together to the Coliseum for home games, would spend the drive talking about it.
¡°He was tinkering with it,¡± Bleday said. ¡°His swing is still the same. But he always had like a normal pick-up and go.¡±
Soderstrom said he committed to getting the foot down earlier last year around mid-season. After returning from the injured list in September, the results really began to show, particularly over the final two weeks of the 2024 campaign as he hit .333 (12-for-36) over his final 10 games.
¡°There were some days where he¡¯d like it and some days where he didn¡¯t,¡± Bleday said. ¡°I would just tell him what helped work for me. Over the course of this Spring Training, he really mastered what works with him to do it.¡±
Bleday cited other players around the league, such as Ezequiel Tovar of the Rockies, who also utilize the approach. The most notable of the bunch: Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
¡°You have to have your own flow to it,¡± Bleday said. ¡°Ohtani¡¯s is really early, but he can coil and get more internal hip rotation. ¡ It¡¯s about the consistency and timing. Those guys on the mound are always trying to screw with your timing. The more you can be on time, the better chance you have of seeing the baseball, and that¡¯s the most important thing.¡±
Soderstrom is seeing the baseball, alright. After Friday's 5-3 loss to the Brewers, he entered Saturday leading the Majors with nine home runs this season.
But it goes beyond the power. Soderstrom is showing all the signs of a complete hitter. Entering Friday¡¯s series opener, his strikeout rate was sitting at 18.5%, much lower from the 31.2% mark in 2023 and 24.9 in 2024.
¡°It¡¯s crazy, man,¡± Bleday said. ¡°If you had told me he would have been leading the league in homers, I would have said you were crazy. ¡ He¡¯s getting pitches and not missing. We all get pitches. We all get mistakes. It¡¯s about not missing them. He¡¯s putting them in the seats, pull-side and oppo. That¡¯s the big difference.¡±