19-year old Juan Soto hit a 3-run homer on his first pitch as a starter
He crushed the first major league pitch he saw as a member of the lineup!
Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto is just 19 years old, but on Monday he became the youngest position player to start in the majors since Jurickson Profar for the Rangers in 2012. More importantly, Soto immediately made a difference for his team, crushing the very first pitch he saw from Robbie Erlin of the San Diego Padres for a three-run homer.
You can peep the awesome home run below, courtesy of MLB:
19 years old. Second career at-bat. First career home run.
— MLB (@MLB) May 21, 2018
Unbelievable, Juan Soto! pic.twitter.com/eqSbfiCuyz
That’s a long, long home run — 422 feet to be as exact as things things can be — , and he also became the youngest player in franchise history to hit a home-run. In doing so he became the first teenager to hit one since Bryce Harper in September 2012.
You can see THAT one right here:
Juan Soto is the first teenager to homer in The Show since …@BHarper3407 on 9/30/2012. pic.twitter.com/0SNdHrOeSr
— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) May 21, 2018
Soto was called up from Double-A prematurely because the Nationals are dealing with a slew of injuries. He struck out in his first plate appearance in which he was a pinch hitter but, as you can definitely see above and after being inserted into the full lineup, the second time’s the charm.
Soto had just eight games at or above Double-A on his résumé before being called up.