Padres star Juan Soto already benefiting big from new MLB rule

But it turns out that the tweet was not actually satire. Through his first 10 at-bats of the spring, Soto recorded eight hits (meaning he really did have an average of .800). The former NL batting champion singled in his first two at-bats Thursday against the Seattle Mariners before grounding out in his third (to “lower” his spring average to .727).

The ban on infield shifts just went into effect this spring. As a result, the four infielders have to be within the boundary of the infield (no longer hanging out on the outfield grass) when the pitcher is on the rubber. That is a major boost for left-handed hitters like Soto (who hit 38.1 percent of his balls in play into right field last season, per FanGraphs).

The shift movement had already produced some real doozies in recent years. But this spring now marks the official demise of infield shifts, much to the delight of players like Soto.