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Each Juan Soto at-bat has seemingly become an invitation for criticism, from his lack of hustle twice in the past week to him bizarrely staring down seven straight pitches — including six strikes — in his first two at-bats against the Red Sox on Wednesday night.
The $765 million man has not lived up to the expectations that come with the largest contract in Big Four sports history, even if his .803 OPS and 1.7 bWAR are nothing to sneeze at.
Plenty have tried to dissect what is off through his first 49 games with the franchise, breaking down the bushels of data for insight.
A pair of notable connected statistical trends can perhaps explain some of the reasons for his slow start, particularly his lack of power.
Soto has a career-worst .429 slugging percentage this season, .140 below his mark with the Yankees last year.
One notable dip is in his bat speed, which is down 2.0 mph from last year and now sits at 73.4. It’s also 1.2 mph less than his 2023 average with the Padres.
Juan Soto’s stats are fine but have not met expectations. Getty ImagesSoto had the second-biggest drop in bat speed — at the time 2.1 mph — in all of MLB — entering the Subway Series, according to The Athletic.
Francisco Lindor (2.0) and Mark Vientos (1.8) also both made the list from last week.
The article described a 2.0 mph dip as an “anomaly” for a 26-year-old hitter in his prime, referencing a chart from an MLB data architect.
Bat speed plays an important factor into power, with Aaron Judge, for example, tallying 76.6 mph with his swing entering Thursday.
That drop could explain why Soto is on pace for approximately 26 homers, which would be his fewest in a 162-game season since his rookie year in 2018.
He smashed 41 with the Yankees last year.
That bat speed can also connect with Soto’s struggles against velocity this year.
Juan Soto striking out versus the Red Sox. APSoto is hitting .167 with a .265 on-base percentage, .375 slugging percentage and .417 OPS against 146 pitches of at least 95 mph, as detailed by Sports Illustrated.
Soto slashed .347/.352.456 with a .718 OPS last season against those offerings.
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The outfielder is also hitting just .121 with a .582 OPS against “power” pitchers who are in the top-third of the league in strikeouts plus walks, according to baseball reference’s descriptor.
Other areas in which Soto has lagged in this year compared to last, as previously noted by The Post, include his barreling rate and success vs. right-handed pitching.
His 14.0 percent barreling rate is 5.7 percent down from 2024, although its 0.1 percent higher than his career average.
He’s also slugging just .430 with a .771 OPS against righties pitching, while he has crushed them to the tune of a .987 OPS and .553 slugging percentage for his career.
“A lot of times their frustrations are going to get the best of them, especially a guy like that — he’s so talented and has had so much success early in his career. Right now, he feels maybe he could do a little bit more for the team,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday. “He’s part of it and that is part of the conversation here, understanding the personnel. But at the same time, a guy like him wants to be coached, wants to be challenged. That’s what makes him special.”
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