Red-hot Soto climbing back up league leaderboards

You know all that talk about Juan Soto having a disappointing first half, about being unworthy of the All-Star selection he received last weekend? It doesn’t really apply anymore, because the Nationals star is hitting out of his mind right now and bringing his season totals up to the kind of standard we expected all along.

With homers in both ends of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Mariners, Soto continued his July onslaught at the plate. Over his last 17 games, he’s batting .400 (20-for-50) with four doubles, five homers and 19 walks.

All of that has brought Soto’s season OPS up to .892, sixth-best in the National League.

In fact, Soto now owns a higher on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS than Josh Bell, who for the majority of the last three months has unquestionably been the Nationals’ best offensive player.

With homers in four of his last five games, Soto seems to have figured out his power stroke before heading to Los Angeles for Monday night’s Home Run Derby.

“I’ve been working a lot on my swing,” he said after the opener of Wednesday’s doubleheader, when he blasted a three-run homer to left-center in the bottom of the ninth. “It’s getting better. It’s feeling better. Whenever I start hitting the ball that way, it seems kind of good, and I think that’s all I need.”

On top of all that, Soto now owns a career-best 15-game hitting streak while also reaching base in 22 consecutive games.

But wait, you say, how can Soto be on a 15-game hitting streak when he failed to record a hit in back-to-back games last week against the Marlins? The answer is a bit quirky: Though he indeed didn’t get a hit on July 3 or July 4, Soto drew a walk in each of his plate appearances those two days (he came up to bat only three total times while dealing with a tight calf muscle). And according to Major League Baseball criteria, games that don’t include an official at-bat don’t count against a hitting streak.

Whatever the case, Soto is feeling like his old self at the plate these days. And not a moment too soon for the 23-year-old.

“Everything that we know that he’s done in the past, he’s doing that right now,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Now you’re starting to see the results of what he can do when he stays behind the ball.”