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Washington Nationals: Scouting report on OF Juan Soto

By Benjamin Chase

WOODBRIDGE, VA - MAY 6, 2018: Outfielder Juan Soto #25 of the Potomac Nationals, single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, hits a solo homerun during the bottom of the third inning of a Carolina League game on May 6, 2018 against the Salem Red Sox, single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, VA.(Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images)
WOODBRIDGE, VA - MAY 6, 2018: Outfielder Juan Soto #25 of the Potomac Nationals, single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, hits a solo homerun during the bottom of the third inning of a Carolina League game on May 6, 2018 against the Salem Red Sox, single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, VA.(Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images) /
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Scouting Report

Size/Build

Soto is listed at 6’1″ tall and 185 pounds, though I would say the weight is probably closer to 200 pounds, and he really worked on his physique since being signed, with some natural “baby fat” burned off and good muscle development, especially from his upper thighs/hamstrings up through his lower back, strengthening his core area significantly and visibly.

A lefty thrower and swinger, Soto’s setup at the plate has widened slightly this season with his feet now set outside of both shoulders. He would previously have a bit of a leg kick, but he’s eschewed that for a wider stance and more of a quick leg lift as the pitch approached, putting his weight back onto his left (back) leg.

In that moment, he takes the bat, with a high back elbow, into more of a premium line drive start position for his swing.

Hitting

Contact (65) – From his locked position, Soto explodes the bat through the zone with a line drive path and tremendous bat control. Soto has shown the ability to reach any pitch within the zone. In my views this season in the minor leagues, the only player with a better contact tool in the entire minor leagues is Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.

Power (60) – I wavered heavily between a 55 and 60 here. Soto has incredible generated power in his swing, but his natural swing path is more of a line drive path, which plays well with his incredible ability to impact the ball to drive plenty of balls on a line over the wall, but it could put a ceiling on his true power, unless he sacrificed contact for power with a swing angle change.

Eye (65) – This is where Juan Soto has shown the Washington Nationals the most growth in 2018. Sure, his raw strikeout rate is higher than in his short time in 2017, but he’s facing more advanced pitchers and has done tremendous work in spitting on pitcher’s pitches in pitcher’s counts this season, even though his incredible bat control would likely allow him to make contact on most of those pitches. This has led to a significant increase in his walk rate, but he is hunting the best pitch to impact each plate appearance now, rather than simply making contact each plate appearance.

Base Running/Fielding

Speed (50) – Out of the box, Juan Soto is a below-average quickness guy, but at peak speed underway, he’s an above-average runner, which should allow Soto to be an excellent player in going first to third or grabbing an extra base on a hit to the gap, but probably never a big base stealer.

Defense (45) – One of the things I’m most impressed by with Soto this year is the work he’s put in on defense. Soto has moved from a 40 to a 45 for me in corner outfield defense, and he’s receiving tremendous marks for his defensive work, frequently being noted at the park early, working with coaches on reads off the bat and positioning himself on catches. His bat will always allow him to play, but if he can even play up to an average defender in a corner, he could be tremendously valuable.

Arm (50) – In raw arm strength, Juan Soto has a 45-50 arm, but he has already shown such improvement in his defensive positioning on catches that he is able to maximize his arm much better, leaving me comfortable with a 50 grade here, and I could even see him going up beyond that with better accuracy along with maximizing his raw arm strength.

Next: Soto's comp, future

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