Many younger players in Major League Baseball today tend to be very free swingers, swinging at pitches out of the strike zone and trying to hit everything.
One player though who is an exception to that rule is Juan Soto.
While many younger stars tend to want to swing at almost anything, the newest member of the San Diego Padres shows the patience of a seasoned veteran at the plate, drawing walks at a rapid rate while also showing off the famous “Soto shuffle.”
Since 2020, Soto has drawn a total of 291 walks, which is the most of any player in that period of time.
Second on the list is Carlos Santana, who has drawn 188 walks, over 100 fewer than Soto.
Most MLB walks since the start of 2020:
Juan Soto, 291 😮
Carlos Santana, 188
Freddie Freeman, 187
Max Muncy, 187
Joey Gallo, 182
Christian Yelich, 181
Matt Olson, 179
Shohei Ohtani, 176 pic.twitter.com/ybxeh0UY72— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 18, 2022
Soto’s Patience
Soto is incredibly patient at the plate and is extremely controlled and disciplined, something that is very unlike many younger players.
But Soto’s patience and discipline has earned him a ton of praise from many around baseball.
The fact that he has drawn that many walks is insane and is a testament to his plate discipline, especially when considering that Santana, who has drawn the second-most walks in that period of time, has drawn over 100 fewer than Soto has.
Soto is one of baseball’s best pure hitters.
His ability to draw walks is on a completely different level from other players.
Patience is always key for the best hitters in the game.
For Soto, it only adds to his prowess as one of the game’s best hitters.
Soto is miles ahead of everybody on the list of players with the most walks since 2020, and he will continue to lead the pack for the foreseeable future.
