
The St. Louis Cardinals have a wunderkind in their center fielder and the baseball world is taking notice. Will he win the Rookie of the Year for the NL?
Taking nothing away from Harrison Bader nor the St. Louis Cardinals, Juan Soto with the Washington Nationals is one heck of a player. In fact, he might run away with the NL Rookie of the Year.
Soto is carrying a slash line of .298/.419/.509 with a .928 OPS. Since bursting on the scene this season on May 20, Soto has smashed his way into the ROY conversation. Offensively, he is a force to be reckoned with but he isn’t as great defensively as Bader.
Soto is noted as a 2.5-WAR player; some 1.4 points lower than Harrison Bader. Going side by side defensively, one can see how Bader in center is a better defender than Soto in left. Have a look:
Year | Age | Tm | Pos | Lg | G | GS | CG | Inn | Ch | PO | A | E | DP | Fld% | Rtot | Rdrs | Rtot/yr | Rdrs/yr | RF/9 | RF/G | lgFld% | lgRF9 | lgRFG | Awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 19 | WSN | LF | NL | 94 | 92 | 88 | 808.0 | 171 | 166 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .988 | -8 | -4 | -12 | -6 | 1.88 | 1.80 | .987 | 1.86 | 1.86 | |
2018 | 19 | WSN | OF | NL | 94 | 92 | 88 | 808.0 | 171 | 166 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .988 | -8 | -4 | -12 | -5 | 1.88 | 1.80 | .986 | 2.09 | 2.09 | |
1 Season | OF | 94 | 92 | 88 | 808.0 | 171 | 166 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .988 | -8 | -4 | -12 | -5 | 1.88 | 1.80 | .986 | 2.09 | 2.09 | ||||
1 Season | LF | 94 | 92 | 88 | 808.0 | 171 | 166 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .988 | -8 | -4 | -12 | -5 | 1.88 | 1.80 | .987 | 1.86 | 1.86 | ||||
1 Season | TOT | 94 | 92 | 88 | 808.0 | 171 | 166 | 3 | 2 | 2 | .988 | -8 | -4 | -12 | -5 | 1.88 | 1.80 | .986 | 2.09 | 2.09 |
…and Bader:
Year | Age | Tm | Pos | Lg | G | GS | CG | Inn | Ch | PO | A | E | DP | Fld% | Rtot | Rdrs | Rtot/yr | Rdrs/yr | RF/9 | RF/G | lgFld% | lgRF9 | lgRFG | Awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 24 | STL | OF | NL | 91 | 77 | 71 | 732.1 | 217 | 207 | 8 | 2 | 1 | .991 | 8 | 21 | 14 | 34 | 2.64 | 2.36 | .986 | 2.09 | 2.09 | |
2018 | 24 | STL | CF | NL | 52 | 46 | 44 | 432.2 | 144 | 139 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .993 | 10 | 13 | 27 | 36 | 2.97 | 2.75 | .986 | 2.46 | 2.45 | |
2018 | 24 | STL | RF | NL | 38 | 29 | 26 | 270.0 | 66 | 61 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .985 | -1 | 8 | -4 | 36 | 2.17 | 1.71 | .984 | 1.95 | 1.95 | |
2018 | 24 | STL | LF | NL | 6 | 2 | 1 | 29.2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | -16 | 0 | 2.12 | 1.17 | .987 | 1.85 | 1.87 | |
2 Seasons | OF | 118 | 97 | 88 | 920.2 | 269 | 256 | 9 | 4 | 1 | .985 | 11 | 24 | 14 | 31 | 2.59 | 2.25 | .986 | 2.08 | 2.07 | ||||
2 Seasons | CF | 72 | 63 | 59 | 584.1 | 189 | 181 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .984 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 30 | 2.86 | 2.58 | .986 | 2.42 | 2.41 | ||||
2 Seasons | RF | 41 | 30 | 26 | 277.2 | 66 | 61 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .985 | -1 | 8 | -4 | 34 | 2.11 | 1.59 | .984 | 1.95 | 1.95 | ||||
2 Seasons | LF | 13 | 4 | 3 | 58.2 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 20 | 2.15 | 1.08 | .984 | 1.84 | 1.84 | ||||
2 Seasons | TOT | 118 | 97 | 88 | 920.2 | 269 | 256 | 9 | 4 | 1 | .985 | 11 | 24 | 14 | 31 | 2.59 | 2.25 | .986 | 2.08 | 2.07 |
Notice that Bader outshines Soto in almost all defensive categories. While Soto is impressive at the plate- true- and while he is highly respected in the field, Bader outshines based on his defensive abilities.
That all said, Richard Justice in his MLB.com ROY article of September 4, placed Soto one step above Bader in the NL race. He notes that both races are tight and it is still anyone’s game in either league. The Baseball Writers’ Association of America have voted throughout the season and as of his writing, Soto was ahead of Bader.