[Will Sammon on Twitter] Juan Soto is seeing a pitch in the heart of the zone with a runner on base just 16 percent of the time.
April 15, 2025
[Will Sammon on Twitter] Juan Soto is seeing a pitch in the heart of the zone with a runner on base just 16 percent of the time.
24 comments
Hard to hit with runners on base when you’re not given any pitches to hit. With Pete hitting like he is right now, I’m more than fine with Soto taking his walks instead of swinging at bad pitches and I have to bet if Pete’s hot streak continues then Soto will start getting pitches to hit.
Either Pete will become a deterrent and Soto will see more good pitches to hit…
Or Pete’s gonna hit .290 with 63 HR and 178 RBI.
win/win
* Soto played for the Nationals when they were good in 2019 * Soto played for the Nationals when they were one of the worst teams in baseball (from 2020 to 2022) * Soto played for the Padres in 2023 when their owner was spending money like a maniac (similar to our current team) * Soto played for the Yankees, meaning he hit in front of Judge
The point is, Soto has seen everything, Soto knows what it’s like to have no protection, to have decent protection, to have a great protection and to be protected by the best hitter in baseball
Don’t worry about Soto’s comments.
In 2021 Juan Soto almost won the MVP despite playing for one of the worst teams in baseball (the Nationals) where they traded all their players away except for Soto
Not only that but from 2020 to 2021 Soto put up **185 OPS+** despite having no protection at all.
It’s weird that people aren’t adjusting a little bit, given how hot Pete is. I guess they figure it’s too small a sample.
Once Vientos hopefully gets going it’s gonna be tough for teams to constantly put Soto on base. You will have Pete, Nimmo and Vientos all in a row with a free man on base. Nimmo still low on average but he has been showing some pop this season.
Yes Judge is the best hitter but at some point teams giving the Mets a free runner will bite them in the ass.
this is all going to be a distant memory by June.
that said, thank GOD they are winning. the fanbase would be in full meltdown mode if the record wasn’t so good.
Also: Credit to him that he’s playing those ABs smart, he’s not chasing, he’s taking the walks when needed and doing a lot of good to the team.
The bottom half of the lineup is “killing” us. That said you would expect teams to pitch around Soto even if Pete keeps going on an MVP caliber pace
Time to walk buddy
It’s crazy to think that pitchers are so afraid of Soto that they’ll pitch around him right now even with Alonso in the on-deck circle. I’m guessing the league still thinks of Pete as being a decent strikeout opportunity, and perhaps over the course of the season they’ll end up being right. For now though I think that strategy is kinda nuts.
What? Our opponents aren’t stupid? Haha
This number has been pretty consistently 25-26% since the 2021 season. It would be a big shift in approach from the league to keep pitching him this way. Obviously you don’t want to serve up meatballs to Soto but I doubt teams are going to keep ignoring the run probabilities of putting multiple guys on base.
That’s why he pulls from the heart of the cards
more runners for a guy with a 1.137 OPS then!
This just in: hottest hitter in the league is pitched around.
More at 11.
That’s why Pete is off to a hot start; the pitch selection he gets is different with base runners.
Great news for Alonso.
The more he punishes teams for pitching around Soto to face him, the more they have to start wondering if the better move is to try to get Soto out.
If Nimmo and Vientos can provide strong protection for Alonso, then this 1-3 is going to be a nightmare for opposing pitching staffs.
But I wanted him to hit dingers!
/s (But he is going to heat up, right?)
I love how talk radio is abuzz today, over an absolute nothingburger of a story in the NYP. Like, *no shit* Juan Soto was pitched differently with Aaron Judge behind him. He’s pitched around now because teams and their pitchers would rather have a guy like Pete—who has struggled the last two years at the plate and is more likely to revert back to that—try and beat them, than Soto, who is more disciplined at the plate.
It’s just that Pete is hot right now, so it’s not working out as planned for the opposition. If I were the Mets and fellow Mets fans, instead of worrying so much about Soto’s numbers (which *will* come), I’d worry more about 4-9 driving 2 in, when 3 fails, since he’s *still* constantly on base. Cause after 1-3, 4-9 in this lineup has generally been ASS to start the season. And yet, they’re still winning. That’s a testament to the pitching being good. But it’s also a worry, cause you don’t want to burn out the bullpen.
This is why players don’t want to come to NY. There’s always something out of nothing.
Friends don’t let friends listen to WFAN. If you see something, say something.
The fan is cooked. Morons out there lately. Pete is crushing the ball and people still don’t want to see Soto. Nothing you can do there.
Pete’s going to turn this into a huge pay day. Unless Cohen and Stearns shortchange him again for Tucker which is definitely possible lol
Mendoza actively chose to pitch to Soto over Judge last year in the subway series, and the Mets ended up sweeping them.
![[Will Sammon on Twitter] Juan Soto is seeing a pitch in the heart of the zone with a runner on base just 16 percent of the time.](https://www.rawchili.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/uju3hbym91ve1.png)
24 comments
Hard to hit with runners on base when you’re not given any pitches to hit. With Pete hitting like he is right now, I’m more than fine with Soto taking his walks instead of swinging at bad pitches and I have to bet if Pete’s hot streak continues then Soto will start getting pitches to hit.
Either Pete will become a deterrent and Soto will see more good pitches to hit…
Or Pete’s gonna hit .290 with 63 HR and 178 RBI.
win/win
* Soto played for the Nationals when they were good in 2019
* Soto played for the Nationals when they were one of the worst teams in baseball (from 2020 to 2022)
* Soto played for the Padres in 2023 when their owner was spending money like a maniac (similar to our current team)
* Soto played for the Yankees, meaning he hit in front of Judge
The point is, Soto has seen everything, Soto knows what it’s like to have no protection, to have decent protection, to have a great protection and to be protected by the best hitter in baseball
Don’t worry about Soto’s comments.
In 2021 Juan Soto almost won the MVP despite playing for one of the worst teams in baseball (the Nationals) where they traded all their players away except for Soto
Not only that but from 2020 to 2021 Soto put up **185 OPS+** despite having no protection at all.
It’s weird that people aren’t adjusting a little bit, given how hot Pete is. I guess they figure it’s too small a sample.
Once Vientos hopefully gets going it’s gonna be tough for teams to constantly put Soto on base. You will have Pete, Nimmo and Vientos all in a row with a free man on base. Nimmo still low on average but he has been showing some pop this season.
Yes Judge is the best hitter but at some point teams giving the Mets a free runner will bite them in the ass.
this is all going to be a distant memory by June.
that said, thank GOD they are winning. the fanbase would be in full meltdown mode if the record wasn’t so good.
Also: Credit to him that he’s playing those ABs smart, he’s not chasing, he’s taking the walks when needed and doing a lot of good to the team.
The bottom half of the lineup is “killing” us. That said you would expect teams to pitch around Soto even if Pete keeps going on an MVP caliber pace
Time to walk buddy
It’s crazy to think that pitchers are so afraid of Soto that they’ll pitch around him right now even with Alonso in the on-deck circle. I’m guessing the league still thinks of Pete as being a decent strikeout opportunity, and perhaps over the course of the season they’ll end up being right. For now though I think that strategy is kinda nuts.
What? Our opponents aren’t stupid? Haha
This number has been pretty consistently 25-26% since the 2021 season. It would be a big shift in approach from the league to keep pitching him this way. Obviously you don’t want to serve up meatballs to Soto but I doubt teams are going to keep ignoring the run probabilities of putting multiple guys on base.
That’s why he pulls from the heart of the cards
more runners for a guy with a 1.137 OPS then!
This just in: hottest hitter in the league is pitched around.
More at 11.
That’s why Pete is off to a hot start; the pitch selection he gets is different with base runners.
Great news for Alonso.
The more he punishes teams for pitching around Soto to face him, the more they have to start wondering if the better move is to try to get Soto out.
If Nimmo and Vientos can provide strong protection for Alonso, then this 1-3 is going to be a nightmare for opposing pitching staffs.
But I wanted him to hit dingers!
/s (But he is going to heat up, right?)
I love how talk radio is abuzz today, over an absolute nothingburger of a story in the NYP. Like, *no shit* Juan Soto was pitched differently with Aaron Judge behind him. He’s pitched around now because teams and their pitchers would rather have a guy like Pete—who has struggled the last two years at the plate and is more likely to revert back to that—try and beat them, than Soto, who is more disciplined at the plate.
It’s just that Pete is hot right now, so it’s not working out as planned for the opposition. If I were the Mets and fellow Mets fans, instead of worrying so much about Soto’s numbers (which *will* come), I’d worry more about 4-9 driving 2 in, when 3 fails, since he’s *still* constantly on base. Cause after 1-3, 4-9 in this lineup has generally been ASS to start the season. And yet, they’re still winning. That’s a testament to the pitching being good. But it’s also a worry, cause you don’t want to burn out the bullpen.
This is why players don’t want to come to NY. There’s always something out of nothing.
Friends don’t let friends listen to WFAN. If you see something, say something.
The fan is cooked. Morons out there lately. Pete is crushing the ball and people still don’t want to see Soto. Nothing you can do there.
Pete’s going to turn this into a huge pay day. Unless Cohen and Stearns shortchange him again for Tucker which is definitely possible lol
Mendoza actively chose to pitch to Soto over Judge last year in the subway series, and the Mets ended up sweeping them.