Juan Soto's bat speed decline threatens Mets' $765 million investment
Hi, everyone!
It’s been a minute since I’ve been able to write anything for Yardbarker. Part of that is my insistence on writing something meaningful, not writing just to write. But most of it was a lack of time: Spring Break, Easter, Charlotte FC coverage, plus I was sick twice during that span.
But that ends today! My latest piece covers the increasingly interesting Juan Soto, who, if you don’t remember, now plays right field for the New York Mets. Oh, he’s also going to make $765 million over the next 15 seasons.
Soto has been one of my favorite players since his debut in 2018. It was even more fun when he was a Yankee last year. I still root for him now, just not the Mets (sorry, Renee).
There has been a lot of discourse this season about Soto’s slow start. The Queens Borough faithful gave him a standing ovation because it’s gotten so bad! (Not really, but people love to copycat.) And I’ve seen many headlines suggesting the pressure of the contract is getting to him, yadda, yadda… nothing concrete. Just talking heads putting their opinion out there. Which is fine, but not really my style.
On Sunday, I began digging through numbers, both traditional and advanced, and lo and behold, I stumbled into something worth writing about.
When the national media starts talking about this, you can tell them Colin had it first!
I’m referring to Soto’s declining bat speed, which you can infer on your own by reading the title. But, you gotta read the article to find out more about what this decline trait means, how it affects other parts of Soto’s swing, and how concerned the Mets (and baseball fans) should be.
Thank you, and have a terrific Monday!