Washington Nationals: Juan Soto’s Incredible Season Continues
Through the up’s and down’s of the Washington Nationals season, Juan Soto is a constant source of production and amazement.
The Washington Nationals perplex us, disgust us, and even make us stand up and start clapping our hands and arms to “Baby Shark.”
But one constant source of joy is 20-year-old outfielder Juan Soto. Off the field, his smile and personality are infectious, and his play on the field can send a ripple effect throughout the whole lineup.
Even amid the horrors at Citi Field last night, Soto shined through the darkness by hitting two runs and driving in three runs.
Both of Soto’s home runs were go-ahead home runs. As Doug Kern pointed out, Soto did the same thing on June 11 of last season against the Yankees. The only other Nationals to have two separate games with two go-ahead home runs in the same game are Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper.
Soto’s game last night continues a sensational sophomore season from the Nats outfielder.
With last night’s outing, Soto boosted his slash line to .289/.401/.543. The only players in Major League Baseball with better numbers in all three slash categories are Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, and Mike Trout.
His career slash line is .291/.404/.529. Since the start of 2018, the only players with a better slash line than Soto’s (min. 500 plate appearances) are Trout and Mookie Betts.
The scary part is that Soto is only improving. Comparing Soto’s 2018 and 2019 seasons, Soto’s walk rate is up, his strikeout rate is down, and his power numbers are all up. Additionally, Soto has stolen twice as many bases this season as he did last season.
It is an incredible shame that Soto did not make the All-Star team this season. We wrote a piece on that topic, which you can read by clicking here or on the box below.
Next. All-Star Snubs. dark
However, there is nothing to fear. At his current career path trajectory, there will be plenty of All-Star appearances left for him.