FANTASY BASEBALL BEAST OR BUST

TO SOTO OR NOT TO SOTO

 

By Muntradamus

BEAST DOME NATION.

Free To Play! WIN DFS TOKENS

Everyone is going nuts for Juan Soto, the 19 year old prospect who went from Single A to AA, and now the Major Leagues in less than 40 Games. In that time he has hit 14 HRs and is proving to be one of the best young prospects in the game.

Despite the news of Soto getting the fast call up and now being a big league option. Everyone in the Fantasy World is jumping on this kid like he is the next Ken Griffey Jr. Maybe that is the case, but I still see a few issues with this move and why the hype at this point is too much.

1. Never judge a book by its cover, but at 6’1/185 Soto is definitely not built to be a player that will hit 30 Home Runs in the Majors for the duration of the season. Yes we have seen little Jose Ramirez hit 20+, but when you see Soto you see more of a lanky stud than someone who is going to be known for the HR ball. If Soto hits 20+ HRs from here on out, then this kid is the real deal and it was right for everyone to jump on him. I just do not see it from his stature. I would expect 10+ HRs from here on out, however there are reasons to believe he does not end up in AAA which has me at a far less number.
2. Maybe he has more speed than we know, but based off of the frequency of the Nationals trying him in the minors for that stolen base total, we have not seen Soto do nearly enough with only 3 SBs in 40 Games. That is Ryan Braun type of production. Maybe we see Soto run more in the majors, but at this point 15+ SBs this season does seem like an outside stretch.
3. The Nationals are a contender team. If Soto is not putting up numbers in a few weeks, they cannot just let him continue to develop while he is slumping. Nationals did cut Moises Sierra, but that does not mean they can make a trade. Nationals also have the highly touted prospect Victor Rolbles as well as the veteran Alenjandro De Aza waiting on deck in the minors.

There is no doubt that Soto will one day be a player we all draft in Fantasy Baseball. However at 19 Years old, it will be a completely different level of talent compared to the Single A 19 Year Old Pitchers he was going up against. Soto does hit hard line drives, but the learning curve may be too much for him to keep up.

Many will rush to grab Soto, many will be dropping Soto in a month. However if you are in a Keeper League. Grab Soto. If you are in a re-draft format, you can grab him if you can, just do not be surprised if you are picking up the next flavor of the week.

Instead add Travis Jankowksi.