(Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)
While many members of the New York Yankees started their offseason workouts in December or January, that wasn’t Juan Soto’s case.
The All-Star outfielder, acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres, took live batting practice on Tuesday and whiffed three times against Nestor Cortes Jr.
Cortes himself downplayed it as normal spring action and Soto probably being a bit behind some of his peers.
The Silver Slugger and MVP candidate, however, did show on Wednesday what he is capable of when he is up to speed.
Good hitters never lose that powerful swing in their prime, and Soto, being 25 years old, only needs a few at-bats to get to where he wants to be.
The Yankees published a video of Soto absolutely destroying a baseball:
Soto Pop. pic.twitter.com/hz2lStT16N
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 21, 2024
Reports from the Yankees’ spring training site indicate that long drive came off Double-A pitcher Chase Hampton.
Still, it’s great to see Soto slowly rounding into form.
It also had the look of a vintage Soto home run: a long drive to center-left field.
He is not your typical pull-heavy left-handed hitter: he will use all fields and is actually better than anyone at going the other way with authority.
The Yankees, and fans in particular, are ecstatic about what Soto will do in 2024.
He just hit 35 homers, drove in 109 runs, worked 132 walks, and posted a .930 OPS in 2023 with the Padres.
Now, try those numbers (especially the .410 OBP) right in front of Aaron Judge.
The 2024 Yanks have considerable offensive upside, and a lot of that has to do with Soto.
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