juan soto hit the roof of the Tokyo Dome tonight, turning a no-doubt home run into an out at the warning track (ground rules, at least in that stadium, allow the ball to remain in play)
― Karl Malone, Monday, 12 November 2018 04:09 (five years ago) link
that sucks for him, but ultimately is a much better story
― Karl Malone, Monday, 12 November 2018 04:10 (five years ago) link
They're very close statistically, but pretty sure Acuna will win ROY this week. Soto has a 40-point edge in OBP, Acuna a 35-point SLG advantage, and their BA is even; that makes Soto the more productive hitter, but it'll be viewed as a wash (Acuna's OPS+ is actually a little higher; five fewer GDP, for one thing), and Acuna has more HR and--going by dWAR, anyway--better defense.
― clemenza, Monday, 12 November 2018 12:56 (five years ago) link
James's rundown of last year's rookies:
http://www.billjamesonline.com/the_rookies_of_2018/
"Acuna ranks a little ahead of Soto because he had almost the same OPS and better defense in a tougher park for a hitter, but in all honesty I think I would choose Soto."
― clemenza, Friday, 30 November 2018 13:02 (five years ago) link
my man bill james otm
acuña deserved the ROY but i think i'm more impressed with soto's season
― mookieproof, Tuesday, November 13, 2018 3:16 PM (two weeks ago)
― mookieproof, Friday, 30 November 2018 14:09 (five years ago) link
My first “Juan Soto is good” tweet of the year. Juan Soto is good.— FantasyRundown.com (@FantasyRundown) March 30, 2019
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 31 March 2019 01:58 (five years ago) link
Best OBP before age-21 (min. 550 PAs):1. Ted Williams - .4362. Mel Ott - .4143. John McGraw - .4124. Jimmie Foxx - .4105. Juan Soto - .402https://t.co/mgTtlNrgK5— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) April 18, 2019
― mookieproof, Thursday, 18 April 2019 18:08 (five years ago) link
20yo Juan Soto's MLB career SLG > 20yo Vlad Jr's career MLB OPS
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 2 May 2019 17:46 (four years ago) link
geez give VGJ more than a week
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 2 May 2019 18:55 (four years ago) link
my brain kept trying to read that acronym as jeff van gundy
― na (NA), Thursday, 2 May 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link
future dh
― these are not all of the possible side effects (Karl Malone), Friday, 10 May 2019 01:05 (four years ago) link
He's now played 162 games:
292/.402/.519 with 31 homers, 107 runs & 107 RBI.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 30 May 2019 11:13 (four years ago) link
what were Trout's first 162? can someone PlayIndex that?
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 30 May 2019 17:00 (four years ago) link
https://moretalk.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/mike-trout-the-first-162-games/
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 30 May 2019 17:06 (four years ago) link
.309/.374/.531 (accomplished while 2 years older than Soto)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 30 May 2019 17:07 (four years ago) link
that's a very impressive line from trout, too, considering that his first 40 games (during his rookie 2011) he slashed vajazzled .220/.281/.390
― i will never make a typo ever again (Karl Malone), Thursday, 30 May 2019 17:13 (four years ago) link
Two homers today. Soto won't come anywhere near Trout's 10.5 WAR in his age-20 season (defense and juiced ball, among other things), but his raw offensive totals in many categories are going to match or surpass Trout's.
― clemenza, Sunday, 18 August 2019 20:19 (four years ago) link
Juan Soto (@Nationals) is the 3rd player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs before turning 21 years old, joining Mel Ott (61) and Tony Conigliaro (56). pic.twitter.com/qjMLcRG8si— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 18, 2019
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 18 August 2019 20:55 (four years ago) link
Soto's got such a nice fluid swing, I would not be surprised if he starts hitting over .300 at some point.
Nats have hit the draft lottery twice in a short time, pretty nice to be able to replace Harper pretty much straight up with perhaps a higher ceiling.
― earlnash, Monday, 19 August 2019 00:21 (four years ago) link
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/juan-soto-becomes-first-nl-player-to-hit-30-home-runs-in-a-season-before-age-21-since-frank-robinson/
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 1 September 2019 13:44 (four years ago) link
Soto's got such a nice fluid swing, I would not be surprised if he starts hitting over .300 at some point.― earlnash, Sunday, August 18, 2019 5:21 PM (two weeks ago)
― earlnash, Sunday, August 18, 2019 5:21 PM (two weeks ago)
prescient post
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 4 September 2019 03:58 (four years ago) link
Lifted this from Sports Illustrated:
And because Soto has a Baseball Reference-calculated Wins Above Replacement mark of 5.0 and Acuña is at 4.8, they are, in all likelihood, going to end up on this short list of pairs of players under 22 to share a 5-WAR season:
Donie Bush (6.5) and Tris Speaker (6.3), 1909Jimmie Foxx (7.9) and Mel Ott (7.4), 1929Eddie Mathews (8.3) and Mickey Mantle (5.8), 1953Al Kaline (8.2) and Hank Aaron (6.3), 1955Frank Robinson (6.6) and Kaline (6.5), 1956Trout (10.5) and Harper (5.2), 2012Trout (9.0) and Machado (6.7), 2013
― clemenza, Friday, 6 September 2019 23:56 (four years ago) link
that trout guy was good
― k3vin k., Saturday, 7 September 2019 01:40 (four years ago) link
That was the premise of the SI piece I took that from: that Acuña/Soto are the new Trout/Harper (acknowledging that the latter is a non-issue now).
― clemenza, Saturday, 7 September 2019 15:32 (four years ago) link
Devers (22) has a fWAR of 5.5 (ie, higher than Acuna & Soto)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Saturday, 7 September 2019 16:18 (four years ago) link
or wait is it <=22 or <22?
wow that's a very impressive list of HOFers, future HOFers, some guy named Donie Bush, and Bryce Harper.
― omar little, Saturday, 7 September 2019 17:16 (four years ago) link
Per Baseball-Reference, Soto joins Alex Rodriguez, Ruben Sierra and Jose Canseco as the only major-league hitters in the last 50 years to record a 30-homer, 100-RBI, 10-steal season before their age 22 season.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 8 September 2019 14:16 (four years ago) link
I don't really understand his contract status:
Signed thru 2019, Earliest Arb Eligible: 2022, Earliest Free Agent: 2025
If he's only signed through this season but not eligible for arbitration until 2022, what does that mean for 2020 and 2021?
― clemenza, Sunday, 8 September 2019 16:05 (four years ago) link
i'm not sure about the technical/legal background but it's similar for other pre-arb players. soto is definitely under team control through 2022
― I am also Harl (Karl Malone), Sunday, 8 September 2019 16:23 (four years ago) link
by "similar" i mean you'll see the same kind of contract status for other pre-arb players
― I am also Harl (Karl Malone), Sunday, 8 September 2019 16:24 (four years ago) link
Thanks. Baseball Reference should make that clearer...if they control him until 2022, why not just say "signed through 2021." There's almost an implication of the old reserve-clause system there, where the Nationals can just renew him for whatever they want in 2020/21.
― clemenza, Sunday, 8 September 2019 18:48 (four years ago) link
hey clemenza, just noticed that fangraphs has updated their contract summary pages for each team. i don't know what you usually refer to for that kind of information, but to me this is pretty much the easiest and simplest way to get it. here's the page for the nats:
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/nationals
and here's more info: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/instagraphs/introducing-rosterresource-payroll-pages/
― I am also Harl (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 10 September 2019 19:17 (four years ago) link
One of the things that makes Juan Soto special is his mature approach at the plate. The Nationals outfielder may not be able to legally buy alcohol in the United States, but he doesn’t just have the discipline of a seasoned vet, he has the discipline of Joey Votto in his prime. A 15 percent walk rate would be good for anyone, but it’s incredible for someone who is younger than OK Computer.His low chase rate is the primary driver of his ability to draw a walk, but Soto has another strategy he employs. When the count reaches two strikes, Soto crouches down lower to shrink his strike zone.
His low chase rate is the primary driver of his ability to draw a walk, but Soto has another strategy he employs. When the count reaches two strikes, Soto crouches down lower to shrink his strike zone.
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2019/9/4/20848679/juan-soto-washington-nationals-two-strike-crouch-robot-umps
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 10 September 2019 19:27 (four years ago) link
Kinda faded a bit over the last 2 weeks of the season, but can now add "clutch postseason heroics" to his CV.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 2 October 2019 04:53 (four years ago) link
Juan Soto is the second youngest player in postseason history to have a WPA over .500 in a game.The youngest, Miguel Cabrera, did it in Game 4 of the 2003 NLDS, a series-clinching game but not an elimination one https://t.co/XL00s8G42k pic.twitter.com/kPjbewAa9k— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) October 2, 2019
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 2 October 2019 14:36 (four years ago) link
<3
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 10 October 2019 03:47 (four years ago) link
https://sports.theonion.com/juan-soto-sheepishly-asks-group-of-nationals-fans-enter-1838887733
― frogbs, Thursday, 10 October 2019 20:09 (four years ago) link
so did Miggy or Cobb homer as a WS cleanup hitter under 21?
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 23 October 2019 01:31 (four years ago) link
Youngest to hit a World Series home run: Andruw Jones, 19 years, 180 days; Miguel Cabrera, 20 years, 187 days; Mickey Mantle, 20 years, 352 days; Juan Soto, 20 years, 362 days.
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 01:47 (four years ago) link
Soto & Jones are the only <20 year olds to hit a HR in their WS debut.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 23 October 2019 02:06 (four years ago) link
Nats Dominican academy pic.twitter.com/vLIoQLrWF5— johnny (@dipuglia) October 23, 2019
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 23 October 2019 20:59 (four years ago) link
Happy birthday, Juan Soto! We will adjust our World Series content accordingly. pic.twitter.com/jAICJ0t14q— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 25, 2019
― mookieproof, Friday, 25 October 2019 14:23 (four years ago) link
Watching Juan Soto lash a beautiful oppo homer this afternoon is as good a reason as any to gaze in wonder yet again at his career XBH spray chart. pic.twitter.com/g3RJlP7H6D— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) February 25, 2020
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 25 February 2020 18:58 (four years ago) link
cardinals broadcast made sure to keep track of how long his home run trot was (25.5 seconds)
― But guess what? Nobody gives a toot!😂 (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 25 February 2020 19:06 (four years ago) link
iirc last week when someone asked him what his goals for spring training were, he said 'to make the team'
otm
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 25 February 2020 19:09 (four years ago) link
i think he will probably make the team
― But guess what? Nobody gives a toot!😂 (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 25 February 2020 19:13 (four years ago) link
*crosses fingers*
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 25 February 2020 21:22 (four years ago) link
positive for COVID
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 23 July 2020 18:29 (three years ago) link
After being away from the team for ten days due to a positive COVID-19 test, Juan Soto returned to the Nationals on Saturday and joined the team for a workout at Nats Park. “For me, in my mind, I think it was a [false] positive,” he said. “I’ve been working on it. I tested a bunch of times negative. Following the rules, being in the right spot. I think that’s why I think it’s a [false] positive because I’ve been following the rules. I’ve been really serious with this. It’s out there. But, for me, they can look at me however they want. I’m going to be the same guy.”
https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/nationals/juan-soto-rejoins-nationals-nationals-park
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 2 August 2020 14:04 (three years ago) link
wow, by fWAR he's ahead of everyone in the AL too, including vlad and semien, by just a smidge.
by pujols-like run do you mean his consistency in the 2000s? seems right to me, just watching him. even his lesser stretches (first half 2021) are still very, very good by almost any other measure other than himself
― typo hell #5: maybe you get an idea of what went into, or (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 28 September 2021 15:46 (two years ago) link
yeah, basically where he's a top-five mvp candidate for the next seven years in a row. more fun soto splits (this season):
he's hitting .469/.463/.813 on first pitches, so don't throw him a first-pitch strike. but then he's hitting .588/.600/1.147 on 1-0 pitches, so
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 28 September 2021 16:09 (two years ago) link
Juan Soto turned down a 13-year, $350 million contract from the Washington Nationals before the lockout, according to this @Enrique_Rojas1 report. In the story, Soto confirms the offer.More from Enrique at @ESPNDeportes: https://t.co/zNnlWTb9Rd— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 16, 2022
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 16 February 2022 19:22 (two years ago) link
He has 6 home runs this year, and a total of 7 RBIs.
― Michael F Gill, Friday, 6 May 2022 20:12 (one year ago) link
juan soto is in one of the worst slumps of his career.
https://i.imgur.com/SYsTbAb.png
juan soto is batting 25% better than the average MLB hitter (wRC+ 125, .214/.265/.432 with 14 HRs)juan soto's babip is .207, more than 100 points below any other season. juan soto has 20.0 fWAR and is 23 years old.
― Bruce Stingbean (Karl Malone), Thursday, 23 June 2022 16:40 (one year ago) link
Turned down a 15 year/$440M extension. My guess is that no amount would have been sufficient.
― Michael F Gill, Saturday, 16 July 2022 20:30 (one year ago) link
That sounds crazy but I honestly can't blame him for thinking he could get more, possibly a lot more, if he hits FA, and he wouldn't have to spend some of his best years on a rebuilding team. Would really only need to get like 10/400 at 26 to beat it and possibly even leave an opportunity for another decent payday at 36.
― ✖, Saturday, 16 July 2022 20:45 (one year ago) link
$440M seems like a big deal.
― clemenza, Saturday, 16 July 2022 23:59 (one year ago) link
he's gonna be a yankee, isn't he
― mookieproof, Sunday, 17 July 2022 00:58 (one year ago) link
With six playoff teams per league, "rebuilding" doesn't mean what it used to.
Can't blame Soto for wanting to bet on himself though.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Sunday, 17 July 2022 12:17 (one year ago) link
i feel bad for nats fans
― na (NA), Monday, 18 July 2022 19:50 (one year ago) link
I can’t believe there seems to be a growing consensus that he will be traded in a week or two. My guess is that it probably costs a team their top 3-5 prospects plus some of their current starters. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/with-juan-soto-available-the-nationals-have-upended-the-trade-market/
― Michael F Gill, Monday, 18 July 2022 23:06 (one year ago) link
Goofy trade scenarios (skimmed--I think the writer's just making them up).
https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/exploring-juan-soto-trades-no-matter-how-far-fetched/
― clemenza, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 03:18 (one year ago) link
whats going on here.
The #Padres, barely clinging to the final wild-card berth, are still awaiting dividends on their blockbuster trade:Juan Soto is hitting .063 (3-48) without an extra-base hit in his last 15 games; .202 with 7 RBI in 35 games since his arrival.Josh Bell is hitting .204/.319/.307.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 16, 2022
― Spottie, Friday, 16 September 2022 19:58 (one year ago) link
And that's not even to mention Josh Hader's 4-digit ERA as a Padre. What's going on?
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Friday, 16 September 2022 20:38 (one year ago) link
san diego is where stars go to die
― Spottie, Friday, 16 September 2022 20:41 (one year ago) link
It’s fascinating to me how bad the deadline deals have worked out so far to the Padres. And I say that as a person who wants them to do well.
― Michael F Gill, Friday, 16 September 2022 23:52 (one year ago) link
I was gonna post that Drury's been great but I see he only has a 700 OPS too!
― Piven After Midnight (The Yellow Kid), Saturday, 17 September 2022 00:12 (one year ago) link
just a poorly timed slump
― ciderpress, Saturday, 17 September 2022 01:31 (one year ago) link
Haven't read it yet, but Posnanski has a column on Soto today:
What gives? At ages 21 and 22, Soto was channeling Ted Williams. Now, all due respect, he’s channeling Ted Sizemore. How can we make sense of any of this?
― clemenza, Friday, 21 April 2023 17:30 (one year ago) link
san diego is where stars go to die― Spottie, Friday, September 16, 2022 1:41 PM (seven months ago)
― Spottie, Friday, September 16, 2022 1:41 PM (seven months ago)
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Friday, 21 April 2023 17:46 (one year ago) link
Probably no surprise, in view of the fact Soto again leads the league in BB; Posnanski (with some numbers for support) thinks Soto has become too selective.
I've got to believe he'll come back--if not all the way, at least to an All-Star level. Mostly I liked the Ted Sizemore reference in that quote.
― clemenza, Friday, 21 April 2023 18:06 (one year ago) link
Finally, finally--having a player-of-the-month May:
.346/.485/.680, 11 doubles, 5 HR
I don't know if there was any validity to that "too selective" theory (always a dicey proposition). Has he become more aggressive? Twenty-one walks for the month would suggest otherwise. Tim?
― clemenza, Saturday, 27 May 2023 18:31 (ten months ago) link
(Will be seeing them/him in July.)
― clemenza, Saturday, 27 May 2023 18:32 (ten months ago) link
MVP already locked up.
― clemenza, Sunday, 31 March 2024 21:43 (three weeks ago) link
Is this the Yankees thread now?
― calstars, Sunday, 31 March 2024 22:56 (three weeks ago) link
I hope he's a Yankee forever
― H.P, Sunday, 31 March 2024 23:10 (three weeks ago) link
At least for as long as they're playing the asstros
― H.P, Sunday, 31 March 2024 23:13 (three weeks ago) link
kinda weird to see the team happy tho ngl
― H.P, Sunday, 31 March 2024 23:14 (three weeks ago) link
I don't know who Sal Licata is, but he's taken it upon himself to revive the whole Joey Votto thing from 15 years ago, complaining about Soto being selective when there are runs that need to be knocked in. (From what I've seen in a cursory look around, he gets lots of pushback via comments.)
― clemenza, Wednesday, 17 April 2024 17:50 (one week ago) link
so to clarify, some guy is talking about something that happened 15 years ago
― na (NA), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 17:58 (one week ago) link
No--he's talking about something happening now, and not especially insightfully. I'm drawing the comparison to what Votto went through 15 years ago.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 17 April 2024 18:26 (one week ago) link
Massive if true. I'm gonna pay more attention to Sal Licata from here on out.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 22:12 (one week ago) link
You see how incredibly timely my post was? In the midst of a Jays meltdown today, Soto came up with two out, runners on second and third, score 4-4. He had the discipline to work a full-count walk, including a called strike that wasn't even close. Which brought Judge up, who knocked in two (also shook off a terrible strike call). If Soto isn't Soto, he probably chases and makes the third out.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 17 April 2024 22:20 (one week ago) link
Anyway, is this a new ILX policy, that we shouldn't be posting about stupid stuff people say? There goes 63% of all posting.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 17 April 2024 22:24 (one week ago) link
We prefer to run with "in-house" stupidity round these parts
― H.P, Thursday, 18 April 2024 00:05 (one week ago) link
That's some real, the-antagonist-scouts-in-moneyball, type logic tho! You can see that exact thought coming from the round table drafting scene at the beginning of the movie
― H.P, Thursday, 18 April 2024 00:09 (one week ago) link