Juan in A Million

 

Okay, rounding out the last of Juan Soto's first 100 games in San Diego? How we looking? Still good? He still elite?

...yeah. Considering that he's got a 3.1 WAR since the trade last year, and he's been 20 runs better than the average as well, I think I can safely say Juan Soto's still one of the best players in baseball. The reason I know that is Soto, for the third year running, has continued to lead the league in walks. Meaning most pitchers would rather walk him than give him something easy to hit.

Despite hitting 34 home runs at one point in his early 20s [which...he is still in], Soto is focusing more on contact and pure hitting, and has 37 hits, 20 RBIs and 7 home runs in his first 40 games of the season. That RBI total leads the Padres, as does his 12 doubles .909 OPS. Soto may not exactly be the centerpiece of this team, but he's essentially been doing what he did in Washington, just with a starrier, more balanced lineup. 

What's even funnier is that Soto and Tatis, despite coming up around the same time, are still the kids of the team, both being 24. So much of the Padres is made up of 30 year olds with massive extensions, guys in their late 20s who only started a couple years ago, and power hitters past the age median. Even with all that experience under their belt, rises and falls, MVP voting and everything, Soto and Tatis, two of the team's biggest stars, are still the youngest in that lineup. Though, to be honest, that is what you get when you sign Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz in the same offseason.

The problem is that if you look closely at this lineup, you'll see that nobody's really hitting except for Soto [overwhelmingly], Tatis and Xander Bogaerts. That means that, despite excellent defensive performances from people like Ha-Seong Kim, and both Austin Nola and Brett Sullivan, the hitters still aren't coming through. It's disappointing to see people like Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado looking so helpless up there, even if it's not quite indicative of their season. All the while the pitching is still very good, and Darvish, Lugo and Hader are league-caliber.

I don't wanna spend many more months patiently waiting for this offense to wake up, even with Soto and Tatis doing a ton of the work. I understand that maybe they wanted to give Soto a taste of Washington, but there's a chance Soto might not be in SD next year anyhow, so they're gonna need to work to make the best of things while he is here.

Coming Tomorrow- A nasty, hard-throwing pitcher that my team finally figured out this week.