WASHINGTON -- Each at-bat was an opportunity for Juan Soto to imagine, every swing a chance for him to envision achieving his dreams like his favorite players did before him. If only they knew then how badly the young slugger wanted to reach those Major League goals, too.

“I remember, at least in Little League, we tried to be like everybody,” Soto said at the end of the regular season. “So my first at-bat, I can be like Robinson Canó. Second at-bat, I can be A-Rod. Third at-bat, I can be [Albert] Pujols. Fourth at-bat, I can be David Ortiz. [Laughs] We tried to be like them.”

Now that Soto is in the same position as those he once portrayed at the plate, it is not uncommon to see the Nationals phenom share videos of young fans doing their best impressions of him -- including the infamous Soto Shuffle -- on his social media. The reposts offer a glimpse into the perspective of the 23-year-old who is young enough to remember admiring the pros and accomplished enough to use his star power to connect with those who look up to him.

“I know it’s going to make them happy, it’s going to make a dream come true because it’s one of the things I never got,” Soto said of sharing fans’ videos. “People never got to know me. They think I signed and I became a really big baseball player, but they don’t know how much of a fan I was before that.”

Soto shows who he is as an elite athlete each time he steps on the field. He just wrapped up a decorated offseason awards spree in which he finished second in National League Most Valuable Player Award voting and earned his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award and All-MLB First Team honors. Soto demonstrated discipline beyond his years to lead all players in both walks and on-base percentage, all while contending for a second straight NL batting title into the final weeks of the season. His 2021 slash line of .313/.465/.534 was the result of a surging turnaround from a slow start -- at least by the standards he’s set already.

• Soto wears Trea Turner Nats jersey in LA

In order to prepare for his dominating plate appearances, Soto’s pregame routine includes taking plenty of swings, as would be expected for the heavy hitter. It also includes an autograph session with crowds of fans, at home and road ballparks, where the appreciation is reciprocated.

“[My family] always showed me, be nice with everybody because you never know who you’re being nice with and who you’re helping out,” Soto said. “That’s one of the things I stick with, and I try to help as much as I can.”

At a mid-September game at Nationals Park, Soto’s attention was caught by a young fan holding a sign that read, “Juan my pacemaker beats 4 U.” He personally delivered a piece of memorabilia -- and a message.

“Things like that, it makes you want to play harder and keep playing hard because you know people are out there watching you and thinking whatever you do is great,” Soto said. “So when I see that, I just think about how blessed we are because we don’t have to deal with all that kind of stuff, but at least we are making those guys happy at one time of their lives. That just made me happy. I gave her a ball and I just told her, ‘Just keep going. I love you, too.’”

Two weeks later, Soto went 0-for-4 in a loss to the Rockies that included a strikeout and three men left on base. The following afternoon, he recounted a pregame interaction at Coors Field that had lifted his spirits amid the frustrating performance.

“​​Sometimes you see a little kid and how their faces get so excited when you give them something,” Soto said. “I threw one of my bats away and I gave it to a little kid. He just wanted to say hi to me, and I said, ‘Grab this,’ and he was so excited, he was just jumping around. That just made me feel better. On a tough day like yesterday that I went through, that kind of smile and happiness on those guys, it just made me feel better.”

Transcending baseball, Soto provides leadership to his 15-year-old brother, Elian. The teenager aspires to become a Major League player, too, with a left-handed swing and skills playing third base. Projected to grow taller than his older brother, Elian has been encouraged to explore the outfield as well.

“I told him, ‘You’ve got to work hard,'’’ Soto said, “‘It’s not easy. I know it looks easy now because I made it all the way, but it’s not easy. You’ve got to play hard, you’ve got to compete against the guys that are really good. They can have more talent than you, but you’ve got to work harder than them, so just keep grinding.' Right now, he feels really motivated.”

Having already garnered Hall of Fame references, Soto hopes to show goals and dreams can be attained regardless of how young someone may be. And with his impressive resume and sky-high potential comes being thrust to the forefront of a franchise. After the Nationals overhauled their roster at the Trade Deadline to move into a new direction for the future, Soto’s role and impact on the club became magnified exponentially, an adjustment for the All-Star whose rookie year wasn’t so distant.

But what could being a leader of a team look like for the player who, for all he has achieved already, was the third-youngest member of the Nats starting lineup at the end of the season and still is trying to learn and improve? Through his interactions with his fans, Soto already has experience leading with positivity and by example.

“[The coaches] told me, ‘You can lead,’” Soto said, “‘You don’t have to be a leader yelling at people and trying to make them do things that you want to. You’ve just got to lead in your way.’ I think that’s one of the things that helped me out. … They told me, ‘Just keep doing your thing, and that’s the way you should be a leader.’ So I think that’s one of the ways I’m going to do it -- I’m just going to play hard and I’m going to try to help them as much as I can.”

Early in Soto’s baseball playing days, he wanted to perform at the plate like the stars he watched dominate the game. Now, having turned 23 just last month, he has the opportunity to be not only the kind of player young athletes want to emulate and admire, but also the kind of team leader they would want to look up to.