Thursday the Washington Nationals announced they had signed 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Juan Soto to a $1.5 million dollar bonus, the largest bonus ever given by the franchise to a Latin American prospect. Ranked as the #22 overall international prospect by MLB.com and #13 by Baseball America, the left-handed hitting Soto was clearly one of the top hitting prospects available in this class.

Therefore because the Nationals decided Soto was worth such a substantial and unusual investment, I immediately went to the internet to find scouting video of the newest member of the Nationals.

Immediately I am impressed with his loose wrists and impeccable movement with his back shoulder during his swing. Soto has obvious fluidity through the strike zone and a natural ability to put the barrel of the bat to the baseball.  He has above-average but not elite batspeed and should add positive mass as he matures physically.  His lower half has plenty of moving parts and excess movement, although he shows a natural athleticism within the violence of his swing.  This intrinsic talent to make solid contact is evident, but like any teenage hitter, he needs to refine and harness his swing.  Soto looks extremely polished as a hitter and I think he is going to become a player down the road.

That said, whenever I become “too confident” in a player’s ability to hit, I consult friend of the site and Baseball Prospectus’s Hitting Guru Ryan Parker to get his expert opinion – Here are his thoughts about Juan Soto:
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“Soto has some obvious strength and batspeed going for him in his swing. With younger hitters I know the mechanics aren’t always going to be pristine so I’m more looking at if they have the foundation on which to build a good swing down the road. For the most part Soto has that foundation. He has has a good feel for rhythm and flow within his swing and a good amount of balance for such a young kid.

Swing-wise I wish he would clean up his front side actions. He has a good leg kick but nothing gets moving forward. It’s a pure timing move rather than a move that creates energy. Because nothing is working forward in his front side it makes his first move with his hands be a forward push rather than a turn around his back shoulder.

I wouldn’t be too concerned for two reasons. One, that is a relatively easy fix. Learn to take the hips forward during the stride. Two, his back side actions are pretty solid. His back arm gets to a good slot and moves pretty well in sequence. His back leg is even better. Zero-in on his back leg during the stride. See how it turns back to the catcher before working forward. That is a high level move. He sets up the back leg well and fires it hard. I dig it.

There is some work to be done with Soto’s swing but the fixes aren’t terribly difficult, the foundation is solid, and he is already showcasing some impressive movement patterns.” – Ryan Parker

* Thank you to Ryan for sharing his time and providing excellent analysis. *