Juan Soto is under a one-year, $31 million contract with the New York Yankees to avoid arbitration. Given his short contract, the 2024 Major League Baseball season serves as an audition for a long-term deal with the Yankees or another team. He’s passing the test with flying colors, based on his slugging percentage on various pitches.
According to the MLB’s Baseball Savant, Soto has a 1.000 slugging percentage against the knuckle curve. He has a .864 slugging percentage on sinkers and .823 on four-seam fastballs. He’s also been impressive against cutters (.696) and changeups (.455).
Juan Soto is slugging .836 against four-seam fastballs ... and .864 against sinkers ... and .696 against cutters .. and ..
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) June 5, 2024
Those results contribute to his .605 slugging percentage in the first 63 games. That number breaks down to .765 in March, .550 in April, .574 in May, and 1.077 in their first four games in June.
In addition to his slugging percentage, Soto has an American League-leading .319 batting average and .422 on-base percentage. He has 76 hits in 238 at-bats and has a 1.027 OPS.
Soto is off to a good start in June, with six hits in 13 at-bats for a .462 batting average. He scored six runs, collected 14 total bases, and earned four RBIs. More importantly, the Yankees won those four games, improving their record to 44-19. That win-loss mark ties them with the Philadelphia Phillies for the league’s best record.
-Lance Fernandez
