Mets' Juan Soto praised as the league's best leverage hitter

In an anonymous player poll, the Mets slugger was named the hitter that pitchers would least like to face in Game 7 of the World Series.

Jun 10, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) hits a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Juan Soto didn't have a perfect start to his New York Mets tenure.

The highest-paid athlete in professional sports had a tough April and May for his standards, struggling to put balls in play despite making hard contact. But in the last week, Soto has turned back into one of the most feared hitters in baseball, posting a robust 1.226 OPS.

Even when he's slumping, Soto's discipline and command of the plate require pitchers to be perfect against him. In an anonymous MLB player survey by The Athletic, Soto was voted the number one hitter that pitchers would least like to face in Game 7 of the World Series.

"He's very disciplined," one pitcher said. "Just seems like he doesn’t hit anything soft. Anything in the zone, he puts the barrel on it. His discipline is almost intimidating, for lack of a better word. Especially in a leverage situation, it’s like you have to make a perfect pitch.”

In @TheAthletic's anonymous MLB player poll, Juan Soto was named as the hitter that pitchers would least like to face in Game 7 of the World Series

Here's what they had to say...

Player 1: “He’s very disciplined. Just seems like he doesn’t hit anything soft. Anything in the… pic.twitter.com/80qKZg9zar

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 11, 2025

Read More: Mets' Juan Soto achieves career first amid hot start to June

The four-time All-Star earned 10 of 64 votes, beating out reigning MVPs Shohei Ohtani (nine votes) and Aaron Judge (six votes). Ohtani and Judge are both off to incredible starts in 2025, but Soto's patience and the ability to consistently put a barrel on the ball set him apart from these two phenoms.

“He has amazing control of the strike zone," another pitcher explained. "You know he’s probably not going to chase. He also has insane power and can hit the ball to all fields. He’s such a tough out.”

As of June 11th, Soto has drawn the most walks in the league (55) and ranks first in walk percentage (18.8%) and chase percentage (14.5%). This patience, combined with his top 4% hard hit percentage (54.9%) and average exit velocity (93.9 mph), makes the lefty an almost impossible hitter to face. Soto said it best: he's waiting for the pitcher to make a mistake.

"Just a great swing. Another mistake. I'm waiting for mistakes"

- Juan Soto on his home run tonight pic.twitter.com/6Nh64x5PBs

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2025

The mistake that he refers to came in Tuesday's game against Washington, when Nats pitcher MacKenzie Gore left one in the top of the zone for Soto, who took it deep the other way for a home run. The at-bat perfectly encapsulates the league's fear of Soto, as he took advantage of one lapse from one of the league's best pitchers to get his team within one run.

Juan Soto drives one the other way!

The Mets cut it to 3-2! pic.twitter.com/Ces3MkLcwU

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 11, 2025

The Athletic's survey collected responses from February to May, before Soto settled into form. As he starts to heat up, the first-place Mets are becoming one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball.