Even with the tumultuous first half, Juan Sotos’ All-Star Game rejection was breathtaking.
The Metsslugger’s stat line of.267 with 21 home runs, 51 RBI, a.401 on-base percentage, and a.915 OPS was unquestionably deserving of a spot on the All-Star teams that were announced on Sunday.
Comparing Soto’s numbers to those of the players who were selected for the National League roster ahead of him, however, makes his exclusion even more obvious.
Compared to San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who came into Sunday hitting.258, with 15 home runs, 38 RBI, a.349 on-base percentage, and a.788 OPS, Soto’s traditional stats were superior overall.
Additionally, they outperformed Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll in every statistic. Carroll was hitting.251 with 20 home runs, 44 RBI, a.335 on-base percentage, and an OPS of.899 at the time of writing.
Additionally, Soto outscored Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins, who had a higher average of.283, with 16 home runs, 46 RBI,.355 on-base percentage, and.875 OPS.
However, Tatis, Carroll, and Stowers were selected on Sunday as the National League’s backup outfielders, along with James Wood, a left fielder with the Washington Nationals.
Wood, who started play Sunday with a.288 average, 23 home runs, 67 RBI,.391 on-base percentage, and.943 OPS, has been the best of the group. In the 2022 transaction that sent Soto to the Padres, the Nationals acquired Wood, a 22-year-old center prospect.
The MLB regulation requiring each team to have an All-Star worked against Soto, 26. The only representative from the Marlins was 27-year-old Stowers.
While the MLB commissioner’s office and player ballots are used to choose the pitchers and reserves, the fans chose the All-Star starters.
Soto was a finalist to start in the outfield, but the fan vote went to the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acu a Jr. and the Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andy Pages and Teoascar Hernandez, the other two outfield contenders, were likewise left off of the NL bench.
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Soto was tied for fourth in home runs, ninth in on-base percentage, and third among MLB hitters going into Sunday, so his absence was particularly noticeable.
According to Baseball Reference, Soto’s 3.7 WAR as of Monday was equal to Tatis’s and better than Carroll’s 2.4 and Stowers’ 1.7, however different models produce different figures for wins above replacement.
With an offensive WAR of 4.0, Soto was third among MLB hitters, only surpassed by Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh (5.4) and Yankees Aaron Judge (6.4).
Soto had a 2.7 WAR heading into Sunday, according to FanGraphs, which was less optimistic than Tatis’ 3.6 and Caroll’s 3.3. According to FanGraphs, Stowers’ 2.1 WAR was still less than Soto’s.
Tatis had 18 stolen bases before Sunday, but Soto’s 10 was more than Stower’s 3 and equaled Carroll’s total.
In the opening year of a historic 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, Soto got off to a sluggish start, hitting.231 with nine home runs and a.770 OPS in his first 57 games.
Since then, however, Soto has been blazing, winning NL Player of the Month for June with a 1.196 OPS and 11 home runs.
Soto has been an All-Star four times. Because he was hitting last season, he was better.He was selected as an American League starter with the Yankees after hitting 300 with 20 home runs, 61 RBI, a.437 on-base percentage, and a.997 OPS.
However, compared to his previous All-Star seasons, Soto’s numbers this year are favorable.
On the day he was selected as an outfield reserve in 2023, Soto was hitting.265 with 15 home runs, 47 RBI, a.419 on-base percentage, and an OPS of.898 for the Padres.
When Soto was added to the Nationals’ NL bench in 2022, he had a.243 average, 17 home runs, 37 RBI, a.398 on-base percentage, and an OPS of.871.
And when Soto was selected for the first time as a reserve in 2021, he was hitting.281 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, a.402 on-base percentage, and a.846 OPS for the Nats.
If another outfield player withdraws, Soto might still be included on the squad for this season.
However, for the time being, he will not be joining fellow Mets players Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 15.
