Juan Soto

Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Soto signed with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2018 and was the runner-up for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. In 2019, he was a key part of the Nationals' first World Series championship. In 2020, he won the National League batting title with a .351 average. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 2020 and 2021 and was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022. Soto was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Juan Soto, Sr. and Belkis Pacheco. He has an older sister and younger brother. His younger brother, Elian, is a third baseman and outfielder who has a verbal agreement to sign with the Nationals organization as an international free agent once he is eligible in January 2023. His father, a salesman, was a catcher in a local men's league and encouraged his son to make baseball his passion.