Six weeks ago, outfielder Juan Soto was just another minor leaguer crammed onto the Hagerstown Sun bus for the long, eight-hour jaunt from western Maryland to Kentucky.
Now the 19-year-old rookie phenom is on charter flights with Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer.
Such are the perks in the rapid rise of Soto, the sweet-swinging left-handed hitter from the Dominican Republic who is drawing raves from his manager, Nationals teammates and opposing scouts.
“This guy can be an absolute star,” said one American League scout, who has watched Soto’s rise from Nationals prospect just a few weeks ago to become an indispensable part of the club’s everyday lineup.
“He is playing beyond his years,” the scout said. “You knew it was a matter of time” before he made the majors.
Soto had three hits Saturday to help lead the Nationals avoid a four-game weekend series sweep with the division-leading Atlanta Braves.
“If you notice, he’s got an unbelievable two-strike approach, he really does,” said Dave Martinez, his manager. “He spreads out and just uses his hands and he puts the ball in play.”
“I don’t even know if he knows he’s in the big leagues,” Scherzer said, with a grin.
Soto said the biggest surprise of his two weeks in the majors is the added attention from fans — he signed autographs before a game in Baltimore — and the first-class travel.
“I like how the fans give a hug and everything,” Soto said. “They made me feel good.”
But on the field, he feels similar to when he was promoted from Double-A Harrisburg to Nationals Park on May 20.
“I feel almost the same. I contain my emotions and keep working,” he said, in improving English.
Soto began the year as the No. 2 prospect in the Nationals’ system at low Single-A Hagerstown, then was promoted to high Single-A Potomac. Soon after that, it was on to Harrisburg. All told, he hit .362 with 14 homers and 52 RBI in just 39 minor league games this season.
Soto has hit .316 with an OPS of .883 in his first 38 at-bats with the Nationals.
He even hit leadoff in Baltimore for the first time — at any level.
“If I am leading off, I am seeing more fastballs,” he said. “That is better.”
Are pitchers adjusting to him?
“They just throw the same thing. They just want to make me (get) out,” he said.
That certainly hasn’t been easy.
Consider last week’s three-game series in Baltimore.
In one outing, he had the first three-hit game of his career, threw out his first runner from the outfield, stole his first base, and drew his first intentional walk.
The next night, he had an opposite-field single on a two-strike swing that resulted in an insurance run in a 2-0 victory over the Orioles.
“That’s just good hitting,” Martinez said. “They threw him a lot of off-speed pitches, but he had good swings, and he battled and it’s a learning process for him and he’s doing really well. He’s come a long way. We all know he’s 19, but he plays the game like he’s been around for awhile, which is nice.”
Soto hit a homer in his second big league at-bat, becoming the first teenager to homer since Bryce Harper did it in 2012 for the Nationals.
And Soto makes sure to watch Harper.
“I know Harper talks to him quite a bit, and when Harp comes up to hit, he watches Harp a lot, I can tell, and that’s good,” Martinez said.
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