Current Phillies pitchers have had mojo vs. Soto
This story was excerpted from the Phillies Beat newsletter, with MLB.com reporter Paul Casella filling in for Todd Zolecki. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Juan Soto is back in the National League East after a 2 1/2-year hiatus -- and the Phillies figure to see plenty of him over the next decade and a half.
With Soto signing a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million deal with the rival Mets, the former Nationals phenom once again will be a frequent foe for the Phillies' pitching staff. Fortunately, a few of them have plenty of experience to draw from when it comes to game-planning against one of the sport's best hitters.
On the surface, the numbers suggest that Soto has had Philadelphia's number over his seven-year career. He has a slash line of .292/.425/.556 (.981 OPS) against the Phils, with more walks (66) than strikeouts (63). His 19 home runs are tied for his most against any team.
Soto has played particularly well at Citizens Bank Park, hitting .327 with a 1.086 OPS. His 13 homers at CBP are his most at any ballpark that he never has called home.
But let's dig a little deeper.
Soto did a lot of that damage at CBP as a rookie -- all the way back in 2018. That's when he hit six of those 13 home runs, going deep against Jake Arrieta (twice), Austin Davis, Yacksel Ríos, Héctor Neris and Nick Pivetta.
So how about the pitchers currently on the Phillies' roster?
Well, no pitcher has faced Soto more throughout his big league career than Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. And second on that list is Phils veteran Aaron Nola.
Overall, seven Phillies pitchers have faced Soto at least five times -- and the slugger with a .953 career OPS has a sub-.900 OPS against all but one of them (including postseason):
Soto vs. Phillies' starting rotation
Wheeler: 13-for-51 (.255), 3 HR, 15 K's, 13 BB, .877 OPS
Nola: 10-for-38 (.263), 3 HR, 9 K's, 15 BB, 1.051 OPS
Ranger Suárez: 0-for-12, 4 K's, 1 BB, .133 OPS
Taijuan Walker: 4-for-13 (.308), 1 K, 2 BB, .862 OPS
Cristopher Sánchez: 2-for-7 (.286), 4 K's 0 BB, .571 OPS
Soto vs. Phillies' bullpen (minimum 5 plate appearances)
José Alvarado: 3-for-13 (.231), 2 K's, 5 BB, 0 XBH, .675 OPS
Matt Strahm: 1-for-5 (.200), 2 K's, 2 BB, .575 OPS