Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto homered in Thursday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
It was in the top of the first inning, against Rockies hurler Antonio Senzatela.
The blast was his sixth of the year.
Before Thursday’s blast, Soto was hitting .258/.400/.462.
The average is a tad low, as is the slugging percentage.
However, it’s early, and it’s nothing to worry about one of the game’s premier hitters.
What’s odd and frankly a bit worrisome is his RBI total.
In fact, it makes for one of the weirdest stats of the first month of the season.
“Perhaps the craziest stat of the first month: Juan Soto has six home runs … and seven RBI,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted.
Perhaps the craziest stat of the first month: Juan Soto has six home runs … and seven RBI.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 5, 2022
The Nationals Aren’t Good, But Lack Of RBI Are Soto’s Fault
Yes, the Nationals are not particularly good and don’t have a ton of hitters for Soto to drive in.
But the problem is actually on Soto, not on his teammates.
He is hitting .245/.437/.585 with a 1.022 OPS with the bases empty.
With men on base, his performance dips a little, to .275/.341/.300 and a .641 OPS.
He is really struggling with men in scoring position, though, a situation in which he is hitting .095/.174/.095.
Yes, the 2022 Nationals aren’t precisely the 1927 Yankees, but they have presented Soto with several opportunities to drive in runs.
He just hasn’t taken advantage of them… so far.
Soto is too talented to fail to produce with men in scoring position for long.
It’s just a month worth of games, so the sample is really small to say he struggles in the clutch, especially when we have seen him carry the team in a World Series run.
But he may have some approach issues to fix in the short-term.
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