Zack Gelof, Tyler Soderstrom Debut in Loss to Twins

Before Friday's second-half opener, Joey Gallo said that he's had some good games at the Coliseum, and some bad games at the Coliseum. Tonight was one of the good ones for Gallo, who helped the Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 win over the Oakland A's with a late two run homer. 

In the end, Gallo's heroics in the top of the ninth for his team, and even the final score didn't really matter in the grand scheme of the season. The story on Friday night was the additions of top prospects Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof to the big league roster, and their arrival. Before the game, they talked about how they got the news they were headed to Oakland. After the game, they reflected on their debuts. 

"I'm at a loss for words still. Got to soak it all up. Lots of family and friends here, so it was a really cool day" Soderstrom told reporters in the clubhouse after his 0-for-3 debut with a walk. "Just to get the first one under your belt is a good feeling. Had some nerves going for sure, so it'll be good to be out there tomorrow and be a little more settled in." 

Soderstrom was the A's first round selection back in the 2020 Draft (26th overall) out of high school. He's one of the youngest players in baseball, joining San Francisco Giants outfielder Luis Matos as 21-year-olds in the Bay Area. 

In his second big league at-bat, Zack Gelof drove a slider in an 0-2 count to right-center that hit off the top of the wall. As he was running to first, he looked up at the scoreboard to see what the exit velocity was to see if it had a chance. "I saw the exit velo and I was like 'oh' and tried to blow a little bit." The hit went to replay review where it was deemed a double, but Gelof was happy with the rbi. 

A's manager Mark Kotsay said that both guys are aggressive at the plate and have the mentality that they swing first and take second. "You like to see aggressiveness in young players, and I think they both showed that tonight." 

In the fifth inning facing Twins reliever Jordan Balazovic, the right-hander started Gelof off with a curveball below the zone that the 23-year-old swung over. Balazovic tried the same pitch in nearly an identical location and Gelof was able to lay off. "I think that is one of my pretty good traits, I think i have a good eye for the zone."

Before the game A's GM David Forst met with the media to discuss the arrival of two of the team's top prospects. "Any young player is going to have a challenge when they first get here. It's pretty rare that somebody hits the ground running. I think it's normal to have ups and downs." 

The future of the franchise is in Oakland as we speak. As we've seen with the big-league club over the past couple of seasons, there will be growing pains. Good games and bad games. It's all a part of the process. But from what we saw from Gelof and Soderstrom in their debuts, there is also plenty of room for hope.