Padres News: Writer Picks Juan Soto as Favorite to Win NL Batting Title
Juan Soto is certainly not off to the hottest start for the San Diego Padres in 2023. Despite coming off of a very promising Spring Training and WBC campaign, the 24-year-old is struggling to generate any form of offense through his first three campaigns.
In 11 appearances at the plate thus far, Soto only has one hit and is currently slashing .091/.231/.091. I'm not too worried because I believe that history has shown that he'll be back to raking very soon. He also dealt with multiple lower and upper body injuries in the offseason that could be contributing to his discomfort at bat right now.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller obviously isn't too concerned about Soto's slow start either. In his recent rundown for the 2023 MLB awards, he listed the star outfielder as a favorite to win the National League Batting Title.
"Because even though he struggled to get hits, he remains one of the best in the business at seeing the ball out of the pitcher's hand. He still led the majors in walks drawn for a second consecutive year—145 in 2021; 135 in 2022—and finished third in the NL with a .401 on-base percentage.
"But he's going to get pitches to hit like never before.The walks made sense in Washington from 2020-22, with little to no lineup protection around Soto. But once Fernando Tatis Jr. is eligible to return in late April, the Padres will probably go with a top four of Tatis, Soto, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts."
(Via Bleacher Report)
As of now, Xander Bogaerts has been the only Padres star to show up at the plate as along without Soto, Manny Machado has also struggled. However, it is their first few games all playing together and a rhythm hasn't been found yet.
Soto has a lot of things riding on his performances this season, including a potential extension with San Diego. Expect those stats to pick up very soon.
