(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto has had several hitting phases in his career.
At times, he looks like a perennial .300 hitter, but he also struggles to surpass .260 (as it happened last year when he hit .242).
For stretches, he looks like he has Barry Bonds power, but his career-high in homers is a relatively modest 34.
However, the one thing that never changes in his offensive profile is his uncanny ability to control the strike zone and earn walks.
The lowest walk total he has finished with has been 79, and that was when he was a rookie in just 116 games.
It’s fair to say that had he played closer to 150 games, 100 walks were easily reachable.
Other than that, he usually clears the 100-walk threshold.
As a result, Soto is already in possession of a prized record.
With each walk he gets in the 2023 campaign, he will be making that record harder to eventually be broken.
Most MLB walks before their 25th birthday:
Juan Soto, 579 (695 games)
Mel Ott, 541 (983 games)
Mickey Mantle, 522 (808 games)
Ted Williams, 493 (586 games)
Eddie Yost, 491 (708 games)
Juan Soto won’t turn 25 until October 25. pic.twitter.com/W8uRbMALVr
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 27, 2023
Soto already has the most walks for an MLB player before his 25th birthday at 579, per Codify.
The best thing of all?
He won’t turn 25 until after the season is over, so he has several months ahead of him to extend his impressive mark.
Look at the list of hitters he already cleared: Mel Ott, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, and Eddie Yost.
That’s some pretty nice company right there.
Soto is already up to 72 walks in 2023, as we approach the halfway point of the season.
He also has 72 strikeouts: for sluggers, having the same number of walks and punchouts is extremely hard to achieve.
Soto, however, is more than just a slugger.
He is a special hitter.
The post Juan Soto Continues To Expand A Must-See MLB Record appeared first on The Cold Wire.