The Gospel of Juan Soto

The FanGraphs Newsletter, May 7, 2024 [READ IN BROWSER]( May 7, 2024 Juan Soto is a tricky player for me to write about, because the numbers speak for themselves — no literary flourish needed. Trying to get cute while writing about a guy performing miracles isn’t baseball blogging, it’s the Gospel of John. Nevertheless, Soto is operating on such a level (he’s hitting .316/.421/.559 through the weekend — all stats are current through Sunday’s games) that it begs examination. Soto has the best batting eye of his generation; therefore, for him, every year is a walk year. But this season, specifically, is his final one before he hits the open market in search of a record long-term contract. It’s been a complicated couple years for us Soto zealots. How can this player demand more money than the (deferral-adjusted) [Shohei Ohtani]( deal? He’s never won an MVP and only finished in the top three once. He’s never recorded a 7-WAR season, never hit 40 home runs. He’s a bad defender, and in the past two seasons, he hit .242 and .275 respectively. If he’s such a uniquely valuable player, how come two teams gave up on him before he turned 25? Soto suffers slightly in the public estimation because his greatest skill is invisible. Soto has posted a .400 OBP in every season of his career; since he debuted in 2018, nobody else has done that more than twice in a full 162-game season. He is the active leader in walk rate by 3.3 percentage points and the active career OBP leader by 27 points, both over [Aaron Judge](. [READ MORE]( [The Guardians Lose Hot-Hitting Steven Kwan]( The absence of the leader in the American League batting race has opened the door for prospect Kyle Manzardo. | by Jay Jaffe [FanGraphs Power Rankings: April 29–May 5]( They're a day late, but there's a new leader on top of the FanGraphs Power Rankings. | by Jake Mailhot [A Deeper Dive Into Pitcher Usage Trends]( I dove into a few theories that might explain, or at least illuminate, the change in pitcher usage over the past decade plus. | by Ben Clemens [Starting Pitchers Streak Has Carried the Mariners to First Place]( Low offense has been the name of the game for the Mariners, particularly in Seattle.. | by Jay Jaffe [Another Hitter for Their Collection: Padres Acquire Luis Arraez]( The Padres are always acquiring good players for a slew of prospects you've never heard of, and the Marlins are back to building for the future. What happens when an irresistible force meets a movable object? A trade. | by Ben Clemens [Oakland Athletics Top 32 Prospects]( Oakland's recent rebuild trades haven't gone especially well, contributing to a system that's in rough shape. | by Eric Longenhagen 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2160: Mail Call]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [The new pitching philosophy that's keeping the Red Sox afloat]( by David Schoenfield, ESPN [The dynamics of Pete Alonso’s pending free agency are fascinating]( by Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic ($) [How a 92 mph fastball became MLB's most valuable pitch]( by David Adler, MLB [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2024 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 3017 N Underwood StArlington, VA 22213 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](