But the combination of everything is what makes the hitter. In 2020, he was MLB's best hitter with a wRC+ of 202. He was MLB's 3rd-best hitter in 2021. In a huge down year, he was MLB's 10th-best hitter (Statcast data had him as the 4th-best). If a hitter is 1st, 3rd, and 10th in MLB over three seasons, it's totally fair for people to say he's the best. I wouldn't, but he's among the best, at the very least. He's not gonna run a BABIP of nearly 100 points below his career numbers again.

The biggest issue with your original comment is that you brought up AVG, which hardly describes how good a hitter is. I always use this example -- would you rather have Skip Schumaker's .303 AVG in 2009 or Prince Fielder's .299? Going by AVG, you would think Schumaker was the better hitter, but Fielder was absurdly more valuable with the bat. Just a preposterous gap in their production.

Some MLB teams have been able to coax a few mph more out of the guys they draft or sign to the minors. The Cardinals are well-known for doing this in recent years, for example. This guy is pretty tiny for an MLB prospect, but he looks like he can add some muscle. Pitch speed is more about mechanics, anyway. We'll see!

He's been well above-average in all five of his seasons. In his worst offensive season, he was 43% better than the average hitter. I think he's slightly overrated -- I'll take Alvarez over him -- but he's a monster. Not sure how anyone could think he's average, to be honest.

Sure you can. On-base rate and slugging are so much more important to hitting, based on expected runs scored, and Soto is an on-base juggernaut. Players are purposefully swinging harder and putting up lower averages to increase their SLG, and there's a reason the whole league is doing this now. I have no doubt Soto could hit for a super high average if he wanted -- he was third in average in MLB in 2021, which is proof he has that ability.

I think Alvarez is a better hitter, but Soto is also young as hell. I think Soto has one peak season ahead of him that will blow us all away.

I think the point is that these guys aren't going 50%. You don't get to the majors without a crazy work ethic. This is occurring during Spring Training, where the players are getting ready for the season (so they are doing their best to get into playing shape -- dogging it doesn't help their long-term outlook). And nationality-based team sports are always stocked with patriotic players who want to win.