In MLB, it doesn’t matter how much time a player is struggling or trying to regain his form: talent, when coupled with health and hard work, always prevails.
Many people criticized San Diego Padres star Juan Soto because he had failed to replicate the form he showed with the Washington Nationals from 2018 to 2022.
But some things take time.
Soto, at this point, has completed a major turnaround and is back to resembling the beast he was in the nation’s capital.
The month of May agrees with him, and if you don’t believe us, Sarah Langs has some stats for you:
Juan Soto since April 27:
210 wRC+, Highest in MLB
1.146 OPS, Highest in MLBamong qualified batters
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 1, 2023
Since April 27, there hasn’t been a better and more productive hitter in baseball if we use wRC+ and OPS.
Yes, not even Aaron Judge, which is quite shocking.
But Soto does all the things a hitter is supposed to do: hit for contact, hit for power, and take a walk.
If pitchers are afraid to challenge Soto, he is more than happy to take his base.
That’s an excellent strategy: it isn’t worth it to expand the zone and start swinging at pitches outside of it because the chances of soft contact increase.
Soto will only swing if he sees a pitch he likes, and when he does, he inflicts a lot of damage.
Soto’s hot May has his overall line looking much more like we have grown accustomed to seeing from him.
He is slashing .263/.424/.500 with 10 home runs and a 156 wRC+.
The scary thing is that he is capable of much, much more.
If he keeps this up, his overall line will soon start looking like his Nationals days, when he flirted or surpassed a .300 batting average and his slugging percentage was well over .500.
NEXT: Top Padres Prospect Sets New Age-Related History
