Juan Soto’s Case for NL Rookie of the Year
Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
The NL Rookie of the Year battle between the Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto and the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. may just have been decided last night in Philadelphia.
Soto was the star of the show as the Nationals swept their second doubleheader in four days and moved within 1 1/2 games of the second place Phillies in the NL East.
In the first game, (Nationals: 3, Phillies: 1) Soto was 2-for-4 at the plate and a stuntman in left field, making a spectacular catch of a foul ball to end the Phillies’ seventh.
In the second game (Nationals: 7, Phillies: 6), Soto went 3-for-4, hitting two home runs. His first was a two-run shot in the fourth. The second was the go-ahead HR in the 10th. By the end of the night Soto had become the first teenager in MLB history to have three multi-homer games in a single season.
After last night’s fireworks, it’s time to throw some stats on the old Rookie of the Year tote board.
2018 Rookie Campaigns as of Sept. 11
(stats in bold lead the category)
Ronald Acuna Jr.:
• Games Played: 94
• At-Bats: 365
• Home Runs: 25
• Runs Batted In: 53
• Batting Average: .290
• Hits: 106
• Walks: 41
• Doubles: 24
• Triples: 3
• Stolen Bases: 14
• Strikeouts: 102
Juan Soto:
• Games Played: 99
• At-Bats: 350
• Home Runs: 18
• Runs Batted In: 60
• Batting Average: .306
• Hits: 107
• Walks: 70
• Doubles: 22
• Triples: 1
• Stolen Bases: 2
• Strikeouts: 88
A look at the numbers shows that while Acuna Jr. has the edge on Soto in speed (SBs, 2Bs, 3Bs), Soto clearly has a better eye at the plate (BBs, SOs, AVG). Add to that the pizazz Soto has shown on the field in the last month of the season (and particularly last night in Philadelphia), many voters’ minds might very well have settled on their NL Rookie of the Year.
