Washington Nationals: Juan Soto deserves MLB All-Star Game love

19-year-old Juan Soto has burst onto the scene for the Washington Nationals. Now, he at least deserves to be in the MLB All-Star Game conversation.

To begin the 2018 season, Juan Soto was the Washington Nationals‘ second-ranked prospect and was starting in right field for the Nats’ Low-A affiliate. Now, just a couple months later, Soto is the Nats’ top prospect, starting left fielder, and cleanup hitter.

Soto’s rapid ascension through the Nats’ organization was mostly due to injuries. Make no mistake; he was tearing up minor league pitching. But, without injuries, Soto may not debut until 2020. Instead, he is in the majors and has established himself as an irreplaceable member of the Nats’ lineup.

The Nats have always viewed Soto as an advanced hitter, but nobody saw this coming. 33 games into his major league career, he owns a .324/.434/.574 slash line to go with six homers, nine doubles,16 RBI, and 22 runs scored. Oh, and he is not turning 20 until late-October.

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Perhaps what has been most impressive about Soto, even more so than his power and the fact that he is learning a new position in the majors, is his approach. He has incredible poise and excels at hitting the ball the other way.

Soto’s two-strike approach is also almost unheard of in today’s game. He chokes up on the bat, widens his stance, and tries to put the ball in play. What major leaguer does that nowadays, let alone a 19-year-old? Thanks to his advanced approach, he has just three fewer walks than strikeouts.

No situation is too big for Soto. He hit an opposite-field homer off of a left-handed pitcher in his first at-bat as a starter and second at-bat overall. And that was just the start of it.

He also hit a game-winning home run over the second deck at Nationals Park in a game that was technically played before his debut. Those were both at home, with Nats fans cheering loudly for their young superstar, but he has been just as good on the road.

When the Nats traveled to Yankee Stadium, a ballpark that has the potential to intimidate visiting players, Soto had one of his best games yet. He hit an opposite-field go-ahead home run in the fourth and followed that up with another go-ahead homer in the seventh that will go down as one of the furthest hit balls at Yankee Stadium this year. Take that, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

The league has taken notice of Soto’s performance. On Sunday night, with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with two outs, the Phillies elected to intentionally walk Soto to face Daniel Murphy instead. That’s right; the Phillies intentionally walked a teenager to face Murphy, who has won two consecutive Silver Slugger Awards. Talk about respect.

Although 33 games is a small sample size, Soto deserves to be an All-Star. Bryce Harper made the All-Star team as a 19-year-old in 2012 and played a similar amount of games prior to being selected.

Dave Martinez is also on the National League coaching staff, which could work in Soto’s favor. He will have a little extra say in who makes the team, and nobody has seen Soto play more than he has.

Perhaps Soto could also participate in the Home Run Derby. There is a diminished field this year, with several stars declining to participate, but he would be an intriguing candidate. It is in his home ballpark, and he has put on quite the power display.

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Despite an intriguing case, Juan Soto will likely be snubbed come decision time. Regardless of whether he is an All-Star or not, the Washington Nationals have a special player on their hands. He will make several All-Star appearances throughout his career; it is just a question of whether or not the first one will come this year.

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