Career-low stat underscores slump for Mets' Juan Soto, threatens to end streak

New York Mets superstar Juan Soto is everything a baseball team could wish for in a slugger, hitting for both power and contact. But above all else, there is one part of his game that makes him a $765 million player — besides owner Steve Cohen’s utter disregard for the principle of fair market value.

In every season of his career, Soto finished with on-base percentages higher than .400, thanks largely to his tendency to draw walks at an outsized rate. His career .417 on-base percentage is the highest of any active plyer. This season, however, Soto has been a bit more sluggish at the plate, maintaining a career-low (but still astounding) .382 OBP. For the first time since 2019, Soto’s walk total (84) has fallen behind his strikeout total (90), albeit, by a little. Should Soto finish the season with an OBP below .400, it would be the first time in his career.

On the season, Soto is slashing .248/.382/.488 with 25 home runs. For any other position player, that would be considered an admirable performance. For Soto, this is a down year comparable to 2022, when he hit .242/.401/.452 — all career lows — with 27 home runs.

Soto started the season on the wrong foot, batting .231 at the very end of May. In June, it appeared he had returned to form, hitting to the tune of a .322 average on the month. Conversely, it had proved to only be a temporary reprieve. Soto found himself back in the same rut, hitting for a batting average of .210 through July, his lowest mark of any month.

Soto is dealing with an injury after fouling a ball off his foot (foot contusion) in Tuesday’s match against the Padres. It's unclear if he will miss any time, but he runs the risk of ending his personal streak of posting on-base percentages of .400+.