At just 20 years old, Juan Soto is lighting the league on fire. Batting a magnificent .293, the young star from the Dominican Republic has proven that his $595,000 salary will not be enough for the next season. Is Soto the real deal? We take a look.
Inside the Bat of Juan Soto
An easy predictor of how a player will age in baseball is their bat. How well do they see the ball well? Can they to place the ball? Do they only rely on power? Soto answers some of these questions well.
Does Soto see the ball well? Yes. For reference, let’s compare him to his former teammate, Bryce Harper.
*O-swing is percent of balls swung at that are outside of the strike zone
*Z-swing is percent of balls swung at that are inside the strike zone
*Contact is how often you get the bat on the ball while swinging at all pitches
*These stats are from the current 2019 season
| BA | SO | HR | BB | OBP | O-Swing% | Z-Swing% | Contact% | |
| Soto | .293 | 82 | 17 | 58 | .401 | 20.4% | 66.9% | 78.1% |
| Harper | .258 | 116 | 17 | 65 | .372 | 31.7% | 77.0% | 69.0% |
*Stats are from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs
Soto Is Better
Soto is better at the majority of important batting statistics. This author firmly believes that Soto is a better baseball player than Harper. He’s certainty a better hitter — and he’s only 20.
Can Soto use the entire field? Yes. With a pull percentage of only 39.3, teams can’t put the infield shift on him. Far too often in today’s game, players try to crush every single ball, leading them to pull it. Soto does an amazing job at using what the pitcher gives him. At just 20, sitting back and waiting on an outside pitch is incredibly difficult, but he does it, going opposite field 28.5 percent of the time. He should only get better at it with experience in the majors.
*stats from Fangraph
Does Soto rely solely on power? No. Soto does a fantastic job of just getting the bat on the ball. Does he have power in his swing? Absolutely. He just crushed a 443-foot bomb a few games ago. With Soto, the beauty is his smooth hips through the swing. It looks effortless.
But Can He Field?
Going to keep this short and sweet.
200 games started, two total errors.
Yes, the kid can field.
Outlook
Juan Soto has an innate ability to see the plate unlike any other 20-year-old we’ve seen. Many, including this author, thought we’d never see another young phenom like Mike Trout. That didn’t last long. Statistically, through their first 200 games, Soto was better than Trout was. That’s a lot on the shoulders of a young man, but he is up for the task. We are all watching an all-time great grow up before our eyes. Anyone who sees Soto, especially Nats fans, should buy him a beer and beg him to sign a 10-year contract. Take that back. He’s still too young to drink, but you get the point.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
