You are purchasing an amazing QUAD Relic card of FOUR Super Hot Young Stars of MLB: Ronald Acuna Jr, Luis Robert, Juan Soto & Fernando Tatis Jr. This is the 2021 Topps Museum collection Primary Pieces Quad Relic card # FPR-ARST serial numbered 77/99! All four players photos are taken in high-resolution photography next to each player’s game used jersey/patch. Each player’s photo is also in front of marble background to make the effect of an art museum. On the top of the card is the Museum Collection logo to enhance the card’s aesthetic beauty. This card is a must have for any Ronald Acuna Jr, Fernando Tatis Jr, Juan Soto, or Luis Robert collector/fan/investor! Feel free to check out our other Ronald Acuna Jr. auctions in our Ebay store.
Ronald José Acuña Blanco Jr. (born December 18, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). After signing with the Braves as an international free agent in 2014, Acuña made his MLB debut in 2018, and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The next season, Acuña was named an MLB All-Star, was the NL stolen base leader, and won a Silver Slugger Award.
Acuña signed with the Atlanta Braves for $100,000 as an international free agent in July 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the Gulf Coast Braves and was later promoted to the Danville Braves that season. In 55 games between the two teams he batted .269 with four home runs, 18 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases.
In 2016, he slashed .312/.392/.429 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in only 42 games combined between the Gulf Coast Braves and Rome Braves due to an injury. After the season, he played for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League and was named an ABL All-Star. Acuña made his first appearances in Grapefruit League games at the start of the 2017 season as an extra player originally assigned to minor league camp. He began the year with the Florida Fire Frogs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and was later promoted to the Mississippi Braves of the Class AA Southern League. Acuña was named to the All-Star Futures Game roster in July, and played the whole game, one of three World Team members to do so. He reported to the Gwinnett Braves of the Class AAA International League immediately after the All-Star break, making his International League debut against the Charlotte Knights, during which he hit an opposite-field home run in his second at bat. For the year, Acuña appeared in 139 games, hitting .325/.374/.522 with 21 homers, 82 RBIs and 44 stolen bases.
After the 2017 minor league regular season ended, Acuña was invited to join the Arizona Fall League and was assigned to the Peoria Javelinas. He played 23 games in the AFL hitting .325/.414/.639 alongside seven home runs, winning the league championship and claiming league MVP honors, becoming the AFL's youngest most valuable player.
Baseball America ranked Acuña as the No. 1 Major League Baseball prospect heading into the 2018 season. MLB.com ranked him second to Japanese pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani. Acuña began the year at major league spring training. Despite a .432 average and four home runs in spring training, Acuña was reassigned to minor league camp on March 19, 2018. He reported to the Gwinnett Stripers to begin the 2018 season.
On April 25, 2018, the Braves promoted Acuña to the major leagues. This made him the youngest player in Major League Baseball at that time, claiming the distinction from teammate Ozzie Albies. Though Acuña wore uniform number 24 throughout his minor league career in honor of Miguel Cabrera, he made his major league debut on April 25, 2018, wearing number 13. Against the Cincinnati Reds, Acuña collected his first career hit off Kevin Shackelford. He finished the game 1-for-5 and scored the game-tying run in the eighth inning as the Braves won 5–4. The next day, also against the Reds, Acuña hit his first MLB home run off Homer Bailey. He finished the game 3-for-4 as the Braves won 7–4.
Acuña regularly hit in the leadoff spot in the lineup after the All-Star break. His performance improved markedly as he implemented an adjustment to his batting stance at the suggestion of Kevin Seitzer. While playing against the Miami Marlins on August 13, 2018, Acuña became the fourth player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit a home run to lead off both games of a doubleheader. Additionally, he had hit a home run in his last four games, becoming the youngest player since 1920 to accomplish the feat. By hitting a home run off Trevor Richards on August 14, Acuña became the youngest major leaguer ever to hit home runs in five consecutive games, as well as the fifth batter in Atlanta Braves history to do so. Facing Adam Conley later that same game, Acuña hit his second home run of the night, marking the first time he had ever hit more than one home run in a game.
In the finale of the Braves' series against the Marlins on August 15, Acuña faced José Ureña, who hit him with the first pitch of the game. Ureña was ejected from the game, while Acuña was replaced in the field at the top of the second inning. Acuña played the Braves' next game against the Colorado Rockies on August 16. When Acuña next played the Marlins on August 23, he hit another home run, and was subsequently struck by another pitch. His production during the month of August won him the Major League Baseball Rookie of the Month Award. On September 2, Acuña hit his seventh leadoff home run, tying a Braves team record, set by Marquis Grissom, for such home runs in a season. Three days later, Acuña broke the team's leadoff home run record in a game against the Boston Red Sox. With his 25th home run on September 9, Acuña became the seventh player in MLB history to hit that many home runs while under the age of 21. Later that month, it was announced that Acuña would be playing in the MLB Japan All-Star Series scheduled for November. With his fifteenth stolen base on September 22, 2018, Acuña became the fourth player in MLB history to record a 25–15 season, while aged 20 or below, alongside Alex Rodriguez, Orlando Cepeda, and Mike Trout. Overall with the 2018 Braves, Acuña appeared in 111 MLB games, batting .293 with 26 home runs and 64 RBIs.
On October 7, 2018, in a National League Division Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Acuña became the youngest player in MLB history to hit a postseason grand slam, aged 20 years 293 days, off Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler. On November 12, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year.
On April 2, 2019, Acuña and the Braves agreed to an eight-year contract worth $100 million. The extension included team options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. Aged 21, Acuña became the youngest player in baseball history to sign a contract worth at least $100 million. Acuña's deal was the largest for any player with less than one year of major league service. By June 2019, Acuña had drawn attention for his power production. At midseason, he was named a starting outfielder for the National League in the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and invited to take part in that year's Home Run Derby.
On August 9, Acuña hit his thirtieth home run of the 2019 season while facing Marlins pitcher Tayron Guerrero. Acuña joined the 30–30 club on August 24, in a game against the New York Mets. He became the second-youngest player to reach the milestone, after Mike Trout. With his 40th home run on September 19, Acuña became the youngest major leaguer to enter the 40–30 club. He reported a minor injury in the penultimate series of the Braves' 2019 season, and was rested for the remainder of the regular season.
For the year, Acuña hit .280/.365/.518/.883, with 127 runs (leading the National League), 41 home runs, and 37 stolen bases (leading the NL). Acuña missed the 40–40 club by three stolen bases. He led the major leagues in power-speed number (38.9). Acuña and teammates Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman won the 2019 National League Silver Slugger Awards for outfield, second base, and first base, respectively.
During the 2020 season, shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Braves won the division for the third time in a row, earning a league-record 20th division title. Near the end of the season, Acuña hit a 495-foot home run against the Red Sox; it was the longest MLB home run that year and the longest home run ever hit at Truist Park. In 2020, he batted .250/.406/.581, with 14 home runs and 29 RBIs in 160 at bats and led the league in at bats per home run. He was awarded his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award and finished in twelfth place in voting for the Most Valuable Player Award.
On May 3, 2021, Acuña was named National League Player of the Month for April, batting .341/.443/.705 with eight home runs, three stolen bases, 18 RBIs, and 25 runs scored in 24 games. On May 19, Acuña hit his first career walk-off home run against the New York Mets to give the Braves a 5–4 win. In 82 games, Acuña hit .283/.394/.596 with 24 home runs, 52 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 2021. In 2021, he had the fastest sprint speed of all major league right fielders, at 29.4 feet/second. He led the major leagues with 72 runs scored at the time of his injury. Acuña was elected to start the 2021 All-Star Game alongside teammates Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies but was unable to participate due to the injury. Despite Acuña's injury, the Braves went on to win the 2021 World Series.
Acuña received the most votes of any National League player and was duly selected as a starting outfielder for the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. On July 11, 2022, it was announced that Acuña would participate in the 2022 Home Run Derby. Acuña finished the season batting .266/.351/.413 with 15 home runs, 50 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in 119 games. He led the National League with 11 times caught stealing.
Acuña was named the NL Player of the Month for April after hitting .352/.440/.546 with 13 stolen bases. He also led the league in multi-hit games in April, with 13. For the second year in a row, Acuña received the most votes of any player in the National League and thus was designated a starting outfielder for the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In addition, Acuña was named the NL Player of the Month for June after slashing .356/.429/.683 with nine home runs and 14 stolen bases. On July 3, 2023, Acuña became the first player in MLB history to tally 40 stolen bases, 20 home runs, and 50 RBIs before the All-Star break. On July 29, Acuña stole his 50th base, becoming the first player since 2017 to reach the mark, and becoming the first player in MLB history to record 20 home runs and 50 stolen bases before August.
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Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Jr. (tah-TEES; born 2 January 1999), nicknamed "El Niño" or "Bebo", is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop and right fielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB player Fernando Tatís Sr. Tatís Jr. made his MLB debut in 2019, won the Silver Slugger Award in 2020, and was named an All-Star in 2021.
Tatis Jr. was born in San Pedro de Macoris, in the Dominican Republic. His father was already playing in his third year of professional baseball when Tatis was born, playing for the Cardinals at the time. He spent a lot of time in big league clubhouses, and was very athletic and held an interest in baseball from a young age. He often practiced with Robinson Cano, who is also from San Pedro de Macoris.
The Chicago White Sox signed Tatís as an international free agent from the Dominican Prospect League in 2015. On June 4, 2016, before he had played a professional game, the White Sox traded Tatís, then 17 years old, and Erik Johnson to the Padres for James Shields. Tatís spent 2016 with the Arizona League Padres of the Rookie-level Arizona League and the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, batting a combined .273 with four home runs and 25 runs batted in (RBI) in 55 games; on defense, he made 15 errors and had a .904 fielding percentage.
In 2017, Tatís played 117 games for the Fort Wayne TinCaps Class A Midwest League and 14 games for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League, posting a combined .278 batting average with 22 home runs, 75 RBI, and 32 stolen bases as he was caught 15 times, and on defense he made 30 errors and had a .936 fielding percentage. In 2017–18, he played 17 games at shortstop for the Estrellas de Oriente of the Dominican Winter League, batting .246 with one home run and three RBI.
Tatís entered 2018 as one of the top prospects in the minor leagues. He returned to play shortstop for San Antonio, and in 88 games he batted .286 with 16 home runs, 43 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. On July 23, 2018, Tatís underwent season-ending surgery for a broken left thumb and ligament damage suffered during a head-first slide. He returned to play for the Estrellas for the 2018–19 winter season.
At the beginning of 2019, Tatís was ranked as one of the top three prospects in baseball by MLB Pipeline, ESPN, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus.On March 26, 2019, the Padres announced that Tatís made their Opening Day roster. In his major league debut, he recorded two hits against the San Francisco Giants. On April 1, 2019, Tatís hit his first major league home run.
In August, Tatís injured his back, which ended his 2019 season. He finished the season hitting .317/.379/.590 with 22 home runs, 61 runs, and 106 hits over 84 games. He came in third place in balloting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, behind Pete Alonso and Mike Soroka.
In the 2020 season, Tatís was part of a four-game streak in August in which the San Diego Padres hit four grand slams, and, notably, was at each base position over the four. There was a controversy involving Tatis when he swung at a 3-0 pitch in the eighth inning, hitting an opposite-field grand slam against the Texas Rangers. Though he was criticized by some for breaking the "unwritten rules", since the Padres were already up by seven runs, many people defended him.
In 2020, Tatis led the NL in power-speed number (13.4) and batted .277/.366/.571 (10th in the league) with 50 runs (2nd), 17 home runs (2nd), 42 RBI (4th), and 11 stolen bases (4th) in 224 at bats. Of all major league hitters, he had the highest average exit velocity (95.9 MPH), percentage of hard-hit balls (62.2), and percentage of barrels/plate appearance (12.5%).
In Game 2 of the 2020 Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tatís was able help bring the Padres back into winning position by hitting two home runs that made it possible for the Padres to win the series and head to the next round against the Dodgers, which they lost in three straight games.
Tatís finished in fourth place for the National League MVP Award in 2020, behind Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and his teammate Manny Machado.
Before the 2021 season, Tatis signed a 14-year, $340 million contract extension with the Padres, at the time the third-richest in MLB history, behind deals signed by Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, and the richest signed by a player not yet eligible for salary arbitration. Part of Tatis's future earnings will be given to Big League Advance as part of an agreement Tatis made while in the minor leagues in order to receive early money that he used to "afford a personal trainer, higher quality food and better housing".
On April 23, 2021 exactly 22 years after his father hit two grand slams in one inning, Tatís hit two home runs off of Clayton Kershaw, and he also hit two more home runs in another game off of Trevor Bauer. All four home runs took place at the same venue where Tatís's father made history as well. The Padres won 6-1.
On June 2, 2021, Tatis was named the National League Player of the Month for the month of May, batting .353/.440/.824 with nine home runs, eight stolen bases, 26 RBIs, and 21 runs scored in 20 games. On June 25, Tatis had his first three-homer game in his career against the Arizona Diamondbacks to give the Padres a 11-5 win. On July 1, Tatis was selected to start his first All-Star Game, becoming the first All-Star starter from the Padres since Tony Gwynn. In a July 6, 2021, game, Tatís received media attention for an unusually high catch, which appeared to resemble a double jump typically seen in video games. On July 24, Tatis hit his 30th home run of the season, becoming the fourth Padres player to have hit 30 home runs and stolen 20 bases in a season, after Steve Finley, Wil Myers, and Ryan Klesko. He accomplished this feat over 82 games, the lowest for any player age 22 or younger.
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Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals.
Soto signed with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2018 and was the runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. In 2019, he played a key part in the Nationals' first World Series championship, earning him the Babe Ruth Award. In 2020, he won the National League batting title with a .351 average. Soto has won the Silver Slugger Award three times and is a three-time All-Star.
Soto was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Juan Soto, Sr. and Belkis Pacheco. He has an older sister and younger brother. His younger brother, Elian, is a third baseman and outfielder who has a verbal agreement to sign with the Nationals organization as an international free agent once he is eligible in January 2023. His father, a salesman, was a catcher in a local men's league and encouraged his son to make baseball his passion.
Soto signed with the Washington Nationals as an international free agent in July 2015. He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Gulf Coast League Nationals in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League and was named the Gulf Coast League MVP after hitting .368 with five home runs and 32 runs batted in (RBIs). In September 2016 he was promoted to the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League for the final few games of the 2016 season. Appearing in six games for the Doubledays, he went 9-for-21 (.429) with three doubles and an RBI. He finished the 2016 season with an overall batting average of .368, five home runs, and 32 RBIs.
Promoted to play with the Hagerstown Suns of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2017, Soto got off to a hot start before injuring his ankle while sliding into home in a game on May 2 and landing on the disabled list. At the time of his injury, he was batting .360 with three home runs in 23 games with the Suns. In July 2017, MLB Pipeline ranked Soto the Nationals' second-best prospect and the 42nd-best among all prospects. Soto did not return to the Suns in 2017, but he had two rehabilitation stints with the Gulf Coast Nationals, one of five games in July 2017 and a second one of four games in September 2017 before injuring his hamstring and finally being shut down for the season. In those nine games with the Gulf Coast League Nationals, he went 8-for-25 (.320) with a double, a triple, and four RBIs, and finished the 2017 season with a batting average of .351, three home runs, and 18 RBIs.
Soto entered 2018 as one of the minor leagues' top prospects. He started the season with the Hagerstown Suns, hitting .373 in 16 games with five home runs and 24 RBIs, before being promoted early in the season to the Potomac Nationals in the Class A-Advanced Carolina League. After 15 games with Potomac, in which he hit .371 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs, he was promoted to play with the Harrisburg Senators in the Class AA Eastern League. He had appeared in eight games for the Senators, going 10-for-31 (.323) with two doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs, when on May 20, 2018, the Washington Nationals called him up to the major leagues for the first time to reinforce their outfield after an injury to second baseman and outfielder Howie Kendrick.
2018 season: Historic rookie campaign
Soto made his major-league debut on May 20, 2018, becoming the youngest player in the major leagues at 19 years, 207 days, and the first player born in 1998 to appear in a major-league game. He came on as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and struck out swinging against right-handed relief pitcher Erik Goeddel.
Soto made his first major-league start the next day, playing left field in a game against the San Diego Padres at Nationals Park, and on the first pitch of his first plate appearance of the game, got his first major-league hit, a 422 ft (129 m) opposite-field three-run homer off of Robbie Erlin. After rounding the bases and returning to the dugout, Soto stepped back out for a curtain call from the crowd. He became the youngest player in franchise history to hit a home run and the first teenager to homer in a major-league game since Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper did it at age 19 in 2012. "He's a special player," Harper said of Soto after the game, Soto became the youngest major league player since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989 to be intentionally walked in a game when Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter elected to do so rather than give him an opportunity to drive in a run on May 29.
In June 2018, shortly after being called up to the major leagues, Baseball America listed Soto as the Nationals' top prospect, overtaking fellow outfielder Víctor Robles, and the fourth-best overall prospect in baseball. Soto contributed to a notable oddity when he hit a home run against the New York Yankees on June 18, 2018. The contest began on May 15, 2018, but was suspended until June 18 due to inclement weather with the score at 3–3. Since the stoppage occurred in the fifth inning, a team would have been awarded the win if they were ahead, which implied that he had technically hit a home run before his MLB debut. To prevent confusion, it was added in sequence to his already accrued home run total as his sixth home run. He had hit three home runs in his first five plate appearances against the Yankees.
On June 21, he started as the cleanup hitter for the first time in the major leagues, against the Baltimore Orioles. He doubled home the winning run in a 4–2 victory. Soto's first multi-home run game came on June 13, 2018, against the New York Yankees, and he repeated the feat on June 29, 2018, at Citizens Bank Park against the Philadelphia Phillies, tallying two home runs, four hits, and five RBIs as the Nationals defeated the Phillies 17–7. Soto had another multi-home run game against the Phillies on September 11, 2018, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs in the second game of a doubleheader. On September 16, Soto became the youngest player to steal 3 bases in a game, breaking Rickey Henderson's mark of 20 years, 241 days by accomplishing the feat at 19 years, 326 days.
In 2018, Soto slashed .292/.406/.517 with 79 walks (10th in the NL), 22 home runs, and 70 RBIs in 414 at-bats, and was the youngest player in the NL. He was named NL Rookie of the Month in June, July, and September, becoming the 6th player to win the award 3 or more times. Soto set many MLB teenage records during the season, including the most walks by a teenager (79), most multi-homer games by a teenager (3), highest OBP by a teenager (.406), and highest OPS by a teenager (.923). His 22 homers tied him with then-teammate Bryce Harper for 2nd most home runs by a teenager and he became the only teenager to walk more than 60 times in a season and post an on-base percentage over .400. He finished second in voting for NL Rookie of the Year to Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., becoming the only 3-time Rookie of the Month winner to not win the Rookie of the Year award.
2019 season: World Series Champion
On August 19, 2019, Soto became only the fourth player in MLB history to record 100 extra-base hits before his 21st birthday, joining Mel Ott, Tony Conigliaro, and his former teammate, Bryce Harper. He later became the seventh MLB player in history to reach 30 home runs before their 21st birthday. In 2019, he batted .282/.401/.548 with 110 runs (7th), 108 walks (3rd), 34 home runs, and 110 RBIs (9th) and he stole 12 bases in 13 attempts.
With the Nationals trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 3–1 in the bottom of the eighth during the NL Wild Card Game, Soto hit a bases-clearing single off of Brewers closer Josh Hader to give the Nationals a 4–3 lead. They would later hang on to the lead and advance to the National League Division Series.
In Game 3 of the NLDS, Soto hit his first career postseason home run off Hyun-jin Ryu. In in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS, Soto hit an RBI single in the 6th inning off of Walker Buehler and later hit a game-tying home run in the top of the 8th off Clayton Kershaw. The Nationals would go on to win in 10 innings and eliminated the Dodgers, advancing to the National League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history. Soto went 3-16 (.188) with a double and an RBI in the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Nationals advanced to the World Series after sweeping the best-of-seven series.
In Game 1 of the World Series, Soto hit a home run off of Astros' ace Gerrit Cole to start the fourth inning and became the fourth youngest player in MLB history to ever hit a home run in a World Series. Game 3 of the World Series fell on October 25, Soto's 21st birthday, fulfilling an approximately 10 year old prediction made by Soto's father who had said that Soto would play in the World Series on his birthday. In Game 5 of the series, Soto hit another home run off Cole, providing the lone Nationals' run in a 7–1 loss which put the Nationals down 3 games to 2 in the best-of-seven series. In Game 6, Soto hit his third home run of the series off Justin Verlander, a go-ahead solo run home run, to help force a decisive Game 7.
The Nationals would go on to win the World Series, their first in franchise history, and Soto batted .277/.373/.554 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs in the postseason (.333/.438/.741 with 3 HR, 7 RBIs in the World Series). For the series, he led the Nationals in home runs, hits, walks and runs scored. Soto was later named the co-winner (with Stephen Strasburg) of the 2019 Babe Ruth Award. Soto was named to the All-MLB Second Team in the first edition of the annual award.
2020 season: Batting Champion
In a series at Citi Field against the division-rival New York Mets, Soto first hit a home run 463 feet (141 m) on August 10, the longest of his career, then another home run measured at 466 feet (142 m) on August 12 to set a new personal best. He was named National League Player of the Week on August 17, his first such honor.
Soto also led all qualified hitters in MLB in on-base percentage (.490), slugging percentage (.695), and on-base plus slugging (1.185), posting the highest marks in those three categories for any major league hitter with at least 195 plate appearances in a season since Barry Bonds in the 2004 season. Soto won his first career Silver Slugger Award and was also named to the All-MLB First Team for the first time in his career. In spite of Soto's exceptional play, the Nationals were unable to capitalize, missing the playoffs even with an expanded format.
2021 season: First All-Star season and NL MVP runner-up
In the Nationals' first game of the season on April 6, Soto hit a walk-off single off of Will Smith of the Atlanta Braves for his first career walk-off hit. On April 20, Soto was put on the 10-Day IL for a left shoulder strain and was reinstated to the active roster on May 4. Soto was named a reserve to the National League All Star Team for the 2021 All Star Game, receiving his first All-Star selection. Soto also participated in the Home Run Derby for the first time, where he upset top-seeded Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani in double-overtime before losing in the semifinal to eventual repeat winner Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.
In 2021, Soto batted .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 111 runs scored. He reinforced his reputation as the most disciplined hitter in baseball by swinging at an MLB-low 15.1% of pitches outside the strike zone, leading the next closest player, Dodgers infielder Max Muncy, by 4.0 percentage points. Soto joined Ted Williams as the only players in MLB history to have led the major leagues in on base percentage multiple times by age 22. His total of 145 walks was the highest in a single season since Barry Bonds set the major league record with 232 in 2004. Soto's former teammate Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies ranked second in the league with 100 walks, making Soto only the 6th player in the live ball era to have led his league in walks by a margin of 40 or more. He led the major leagues in walk percentage, at 22.2%, and intentional walks, with 23. He had the best walk/strikeout ratio in the majors, at 1.56. He swung at the lowest percentage of pitches of all major leaguers, at 35.0%.
Following the season, Soto was named to the All-MLB First Team and won the National League Silver Slugger Award for the outfield, receiving both honors for the second straight season. Soto was the runner up in National League Most Valuable Player Award (NL MVP) voting, losing out to Bryce Harper. Soto became the sixth player in MLB history to finish as runner-up in both MVP and Rookie of the Year voting.
Prior to the 2021–22 MLB lockout, the Nationals offered Soto a 13-year, $350 million contract extension which would've signed the then 23 year old Soto through his age 35 season in 2034. However, Soto declined the offer and said that he and his agent, Scott Boras, wanted to wait until he became a free agent after the 2024 season to sign a contract and that he "still think[s] of Washington as the place where [he] would like to spend the rest of [his] career."
2022 season
On March 22, 2022, Soto agreed to a $17.1M contract with the Nationals, avoiding arbitration. On April 12, Soto hit his 100th career home run off of Braves pitcher Bryce Elder. At the age of 23 years, 169 days, Soto became the youngest player to reach that milestone in Nationals history and the eighth-youngest player to reach the milestone in MLB history.
Soto was named to the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and also participated in the 2022 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, which he won. He became the second youngest Home Run Derby winner behind Juan González who won in 1993; Soto was one day older.
On August 2, 2022, Soto, along with Josh Bell, was traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for C. J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell, James Wood, Jarlín Susana, and Luke Voit. The magnitude of the trade drew comparisons to the Herschel Walker trade in the NFL.
On August 12, 2022, just ten days after being traded to the Padres, Soto faced the Nationals in Washington, where he received a 45-second-long standing ovation from the crowd. For the remainder of the 2022 season with the Padres, Soto played 51 games with the team, compiling a .240 batting average, 6 home runs, 16 RBI, and 36 walks.
Overall in 2022, combined with both teams, Soto played 152 total games with a .244 batting average, 27 home runs, 62 RBI, and an MLB-leading 135 walks. He walked in 20.3% of his plate appearances, tops in the major leagues, and had the highest BB/K% in the majors, at 1.41. He swung at a lower percentage of pitches outside the strike zone (19.9%) than any other major league batter.
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Luis Robert Moirán Jr. (born August 3, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). After defecting from Cuba in 2016, Robert signed with the White Sox in 2017. He made his MLB debut in 2020. That year, he won the Gold Glove Award. He was named an All-Star in 2023.
In November 2016, Robert defected from Cuba to pursue a Major League Baseball (MLB) career in the United States. On April 20, 2017, he was declared a free agent, but he was not eligible to sign with any major league club until May 20.
On May 27, 2017, Robert signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox that included a $26 million signing bonus. After signing, he reported to the DSL White Sox and played 28 games there, posting a .310 batting average with three home runs, 14 runs batted in, 22 bases on balls, and 12 stolen bases.
In 2018, Robert made his first start at outfield in a spring training game and hit a two-out, go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning, lifting the White Sox to a 14–12 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. However, Robert was placed on the injured list for two months after the game, because he had sprained a ligament in his left thumb while sliding into second base.
Robert began 2019 with the Winston-Salem Dash; he was promoted to the Birmingham Barons on April 30. Robert was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. On July 11, he made his debut with Class AAA Charlotte, where he hit 2 home runs in his first game with 7 runs batted in. Robert joined the 30/30 club by hitting 30 home runs and stealing 36 bases during the 2019 season.
In 2019, he scored 108 runs, the second most in the minor leagues, and he led the minors with 165 hits.
On January 2, 2020, Robert agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract with the Chicago White Sox before appearing in a major league game. The contract includes team options for 2026 and 2027 which, if exercised, could bring the value of the contract to $88 million. On July 24, he made his MLB debut. July 26, he hit his first MLB home run.
In August 2020, Robert batted .298/.356/.660, including seven doubles, nine home runs, 20 runs batted in, and three stolen bases over 26 games. He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month Award, his first monthly award in the major leagues. Overall in 2020 he batted .233/.302/.436 over 202 at bats. Robert hit his first postseason home run in game 3 of the Wild Card Series against the Oakland Athletics off of Mike Fiers. His 487-foot home run was the longest postseason home run in White Sox history. He also won the Gold Glove Award for center field, becoming the second White Sox player in history to win the award in his rookie season. Robert also finished 2nd in AL Rookie of the Year voting losing to Kyle Lewis of the Seattle Mariners.
Robert batted .316/.359/.461 in 25 games through May 2, 2021 when he suffered a complete tear of his right hip flexor. The injury required a rehabilitation period of three to four months before he could resume baseball activities. On May 27, he was placed on the 60-day injured list. He was activated off the Injured List on August 9. Overall, Robert hit .338 with 13 Homers and 43 RBI's in 68 games in 2021.
On July 14, 2022, in a game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, Robert hit his first career grand slam off of starting pitcher Sonny Gray.
On February 17, 2023, Robert announced that he would utilize the "Jr." suffix in his name from then on, which would also be reflected on his uniform. Robert won the American League Player of the Week Award on June 26 after he batted .444 with a 1.111 slugging percentage in the previous six games. Robert was named to his first ever All-Star Game. Robert also announced he was going to be participating in the 2023 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. Robert advanced to the semi-finals where he eventually lost to Randy Arozarena.
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Career highlights and awards |
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