Juan Soto Advances to Semifinals in 2022 Home Run Derby

Washington Nationals superstar outfielder Juan Soto advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 Home Run Derby, hitting 18 home runs to Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez's 17 homers.

Juan Soto has advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 Home Run Derby in Los Angeles, out-homering Jose Ramirez, 18-17.

Juan Soto is bat flipping his way into the 2nd round! #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/uLr0oSAt4L

— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2022

Soto, the star outfielder for the Washington Nationals, is participating in his second Home Run Derby.

This is the first Home Run Derby appearance for Ramirez, the third baseman for the Cleveland Guardians.

Soto advanced to the semifinals last year at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, defeating Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels in the first round.

He benefitted from a minute of extra time thanks to hitting at least two home runs of 440 feet or more. His longest home run of the first round was 482 feet.

Juan Soto is a studpic.twitter.com/ubMqw7AzEU

— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) July 19, 2022

Soto is also the source of intense trade rumors as the Washington Nationals are considering moving him before the trade deadline after Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million extension recently.

"A couple of weeks ago, they said they'd never trade me - and now all of these things are coming out," Soto said to reporters during All-Star media availability. "...It feels really uncomfortable. You don't know what to trust."

Soto is batting .250 this season with 20 home runs, 43 RBI and a .902 OPS. The Nationals are sitting in last place in the NL East with a 31-63 record.

“It was pretty tough. Pretty frustrating. I try to keep my stuff private, don’t try to throw stuff out there,” Soto said of the leak. “It feels really bad, but at the end of the day we just have to keep playing.”

Washington has the worst record in Major League Baseball, with the Oakland Athletics ahead by 0.5 games.