The San Diego Padres are one of the most disappointing teams in baseball this year.
It is hard to find a team with more talent that has achieved less than the Padres.
They are full of perennial MVP candidates, yet will not be making the playoffs.
One player who has been good this season despite the team’s success is Juan Soto.
He has been the Padres’ best hitter this year and continues to play well even though they are out of the race.
On Sunday, Soto achieved a career first.
According to MLB, Soto hit his first career grand slam against the Oakland Athletics.
Welcome to Slam Diego!
Juan Soto crushes his FIRST career grand slam. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gbrqWX4nyg
— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2023
Surprisingly, Soto did not have a grand slam until yesterday.
He has been in the majors since 2018 and has played six MLB seasons.
Not hitting one grand slam in all that time is hard to believe.
When talking about Soto people always want to discuss his plate discipline.
This season is set to be the third straight year that Soto leads MLB in walks.
Also, he has never had a season with an on-base percentage under .400.
Despite many problems that have come along with the Padres, their star outfielder has not been one.
Soto has one more arbitration year in 2024 before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
The Padres need to decide if/how much they want to pay Soto very soon.
The 24-year-old will be looking to become one of the highest-paid players in baseball.
If the Padres will not pay him that, another team will.
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