Juan Soto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Juan Soto |
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Soto with the Mets in 2025
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| New York Mets – No. 22 | |||
| Outfielder | |||
| Born: October 25, 1998 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
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| debut | |||
| May 20, 2018, for the Washington Nationals | |||
| MLB statistics (through July 27, 2025) |
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| Batting average | .281 | ||
| Hits | 1,028 | ||
| Home runs | 226 | ||
| Runs batted in | 654 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a baseball player from the Dominican Republic. He plays as an outfielder for the New York Mets in Major League Baseball (MLB). He also played for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees. Juan Soto has won the Silver Slugger Award five times and has been an All-Star four times.
Soto joined the Nationals in 2015 as a free agent. He started playing in MLB in 2018 and was almost named the Rookie of the Year. In 2019, he helped the Nationals win their first World Series championship. He also won the Babe Ruth Award. In 2020, he became the National League batting champion. After playing for the Padres and Yankees, Soto signed a huge contract with the Mets in December 2024. This was the largest contract in sports history.
Soto is known for being very good at choosing which pitches to swing at. He also has a special way of moving in the batter's box, called the "Soto Shuffle."
Contents
- Early Life and Baseball Dreams
- Juan Soto's Professional Journey
- Juan Soto's Playing Style
- International Baseball Career
- Personal Life
- See also
Early Life and Baseball Dreams
Juan Soto was born on October 25, 1998. His parents are Juan Soto Sr. and Belkis Pacheco. He has an older sister and a younger brother named Elian Soto. Elian also signed with the Nationals in 2023. Juan's father was a salesman and played baseball in a local league. He encouraged his sons to love baseball.
Juan Soto's Professional Journey
Starting in the Minor Leagues
Soto signed with the Washington Nationals in July 2015. He received a $1.5 million signing bonus. He started playing professionally in 2016 with the Florida Complex League Nationals. He was named the league's most valuable player. He hit .368 with five home runs and 32 RBIs. Later in 2016, he moved up to the Auburn Doubledays.
In 2017, Soto played for the Hagerstown Suns. He started strong but hurt his ankle in May. He was batting .360 at the time. MLB Pipeline ranked him as a top prospect. He had two short comebacks before a hamstring injury ended his 2017 season.
Soto was a top minor league prospect in 2018. He played well for Hagerstown and then the Potomac Nationals. He was promoted to the Harrisburg Senators in May. On May 20, the Nationals called him up to the major leagues.
Playing for the Washington Nationals (2018–2022)
2018: Rookie Season Highlights
Soto made his MLB debut on May 20, 2018. He was the youngest player in the major leagues at 19 years old. He was also the first player born in 1998 to play in an MLB game. In his first start, he hit a three-run home run. He became the youngest player in his team's history to hit a home run.
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Baseball America listed him as the Nationals' top prospect in June. Soto hit a home run against the New York Yankees on June 18. This game had started earlier but was paused. So, it looked like he hit a home run before his debut! He had his first game with two home runs on June 13. On September 16, Soto became the youngest player to steal three bases in one game.
In 2018, Soto had a batting average of .292. He hit 22 home runs and had 70 RBIs. He was the youngest player in the National League. He won the NL Rookie of the Month award three times. He set many records for teenagers in MLB. He finished second for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
2019: World Series Champion
On August 19, 2019, Soto became one of only four players in MLB history to get 100 extra-base hits before turning 21. He also became the seventh player to hit 30 home runs before his 21st birthday. In 2019, he batted .282 with 34 home runs and 110 RBIs.
In the NL Wild Card Game, Soto hit a key single that gave the Nationals the lead. In the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he hit his first career postseason home run. In Game 5, he hit a game-tying home run. The Nationals won and moved on to the National League Championship Series.
In Game 1 of the World Series, Soto hit a home run. He was the fourth youngest player to hit a World Series home run. Game 3 of the World Series was on his 21st birthday. His father had predicted he would play in the World Series on his birthday! The Nationals won the World Series, their first ever. Soto batted .333 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs in the series. He was named a co-winner of the 2019 Babe Ruth Award.
2020: Batting Champion Season
On July 23, 2020, Soto tested positive for COVID-19. He returned to play on August 4. He said he believed it was a false positive test. He hit his longest career home runs in August. He was named National League Player of the Week.
Soto won the National League batting title in 2020, hitting .351. He was the youngest player in NL history to do so. He also led MLB in on-base percentage (.490) and slugging percentage (.695). He won his first Silver Slugger Award. He was also named to the All-MLB First Team.
2021: First All-Star Season
In the first game of the 2021 season, Soto hit a walk-off single. This was his first career walk-off hit. On July 4, Soto was chosen as an All-Star for the first time. He also took part in the Home Run Derby. He beat Shohei Ohtani but lost in the semifinal.
In 2021, Soto batted .313 with 29 home runs and 95 RBIs. He was known for his amazing plate discipline. He swung at the fewest pitches outside the strike zone in MLB. He led the major leagues in walks with 145. He won his second Silver Slugger Award and was named to the All-MLB First Team again. He finished second in voting for the National League MVP Award.
2022: Last Season with Nationals
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On April 12, 2022, Soto hit his 100th career home run. He was 23 years old, making him the youngest player in Nationals history to reach this milestone. Soto was named to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game. He also won the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby.
Playing for the San Diego Padres (2022–2023)
On August 2, 2022, the Nationals traded Soto and Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres. In return, the Nationals received several players. Ten days later, Soto played against the Nationals in Washington. He received a long standing ovation from the crowd. For the rest of 2022, Soto played 51 games with the Padres. He hit 6 home runs and had 16 RBIs. He reached the NLCS with the Padres.
In 2022, Soto played 152 games combined for both teams. He had a .242 batting average, 27 home runs, and 62 RBIs. He led MLB with 135 walks. In January 2023, Soto signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Padres. In 2023, Soto played all 162 games. He batted .275 with 35 home runs, 109 RBIs, and led MLB with 132 walks.
Playing for the New York Yankees (2024)
On December 6, 2023, the Padres traded Soto and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees. In return, the Yankees sent several players to the Padres. Soto and the Yankees agreed to a one-year contract worth $31 million for the 2024 season.
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From March 28 to 31, Soto played very well. He was named the American League Player of the Week on April 1. On June 3, he was named AL Player of the Week again. Soto was chosen as a starting outfielder for the American League in the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.
On August 13, Soto hit three home runs in one game for the first time in his career. The next day, he hit a home run in his first at-bat. This made him the sixth Yankee to hit a home run in four straight at-bats. On August 21, Soto hit his 36th home run of the season, a new career high. On September 17, he hit his 40th home run of the season. This was also his 200th career home run. He became the seventh-youngest player in MLB history to reach 200 home runs. He also hit a home run in all 30 current Major League stadiums.
Soto finished the 2024 season with a .288 batting average, 41 home runs, and 109 RBIs. He was second in MLB with 129 walks. On October 19, Soto hit a three-run home run in Game 5 of the 2024 American League Championship Series. This helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time since 2009. They lost the World Series in five games. After the World Series, Soto became a free agent.
Playing for the New York Mets (2025–Present)
On December 11, 2024, Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. This was the largest contract in professional sports history. The contract included a $75 million signing bonus.
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On March 28, 2025, Soto hit his first home run as a Met. His first home game at Citi Field was on April 4. He hit an RBI double in that game. From March 27 to April 9, Soto had an 11-game streak of getting on base. On May 1, Soto hit two home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This was his 24th game with two or more home runs.
On May 16, Soto returned to Yankee Stadium to play against his former team. He was booed by the fans during the series. On June 19, Soto got his 1,000th career hit. He is the only player in his age group to have 1,000 hits, 200 home runs, and 800 walks. On June 26, Soto hit two more home runs. This was his 27th game with two or more home runs, a record for players under 27. Soto was named the National League Player of the Month for June.
Juan Soto's Playing Style
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Soto is famous for his amazing walk rate. He is one of the best all-time at choosing which pitches to swing at. When he takes a pitch for a ball, he does special movements in the batter's box. This is called the "Soto Shuffle." He might swing his hips, wipe the dirt, or squat down. Soto says he started doing this to get into the minds of the pitchers.
Soto uses a "two-strike approach" when he has two strikes against him. He changes his grip on the bat and stands in a wider, lower way. He is very good at hitting the ball to all parts of the field, even with two strikes. After the 2020 season, he had hit 69 career home runs. They were split evenly: 23 to left field, 23 to center field, and 23 to right field.
Soto was a finalist for a Gold Glove Award as a left fielder in 2019. However, he prefers playing right field. He became the Nationals' everyday right fielder in 2021.
International Baseball Career
Soto played for the Dominican Republic national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He was a leader on the team in hits, home runs, and walks. He also had an outfield assist against Nicaragua. One of his home runs came in a game against Puerto Rico.
In 2021, Soto gave $200,000 to Dominican athletes for the Summer Olympics.
Personal Life
Juan Soto's younger brother, Elian, also plays baseball for the Washington Nationals organization.
Soto wears the number 22 on his uniform. When he joined the Padres in 2022, he gave Nick Martinez a nice watch to get the number. In 2025, when he signed with the Mets, he gave Brett Baty a car to get the number 22.
See also
In Spanish: Juan Soto (beisbolista) para niños
- List of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Washington Nationals team records
- List of largest sports contracts
- List of highest-paid Major League Baseball players
