It was a good week for alums of the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series at the highest level of baseball.
Bo Naylor was part of MLB history on Friday night, becoming part of the first pair of brothers to ever hit multi-run homers in the same inning in a big league game. Teaming up with fellow Cleveland Guardians standout Josh Naylor, Bo started it off with a projected 435-foot homer in the third inning; Josh followed suit just four batters later with a two-run shot of his own.
“It’s super special,” Bo Naylor told MLB.com “I think it was something we talked about, joked about in the past. Seeing it come to pass is pretty wild to think about.”
They also became the first pair of brothers to ever homer in the same game in the long and storied history of the Cleveland franchise, and became just 13th duo to accomplish the feat in big-league history, joining the Ripken’s, Giambi’s, Aaron’s, two pairs of Alou’s and others.
Ever since his mid-June call-up that’s seemingly for good from Triple-A, Bo Naylor has performed well, but been particularly hot lately, going 6-for-11 at the plate with five RBI in his last three starts.
Tyler Soderstrom, C — Oakland Athletics
After recently being promoted to the big leagues as the third FSS alum to reach the majors, Soderstrom has gotten off to a hot start with the Oakland A’s. The 21-year-old first round pick of the Oakland A’s back in 2020 — he was taken with the No. 26 overall pick — has reached base in five of his first 12 plate appearances, including three hits and two walks, as he’s hitting a solid .300 over his first MLB games.
Soderstrom, who was seen at multiple NorCal World Series as well as a Pro Combine back in 2018, recorded his first MLB hit on July 14 as part of what was also his first multi-hit game at the level; he reached safely on a check-swing infield single in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins.
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP — Baltimore Orioles
Grayson Rodriguez is back in the big leagues. After regaining his confidence in Triple-A after a tough start to his time with the Baltimore Orioles this season, the one-time consensus top pitching prospect in baseball has reportedly been recalled to get the start to open the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. An alum of the inaugural 2017 International Week event — just like Naylor — Rodriguez returned to Triple-A Norfolk in late May and returned to form, striking out 54 batters over 37 1/3 innings of work in pitching to a 1.69 ERA, earning International League Pitcher of the Month honors in June along the way.
