Top stories of 2018: Soto's dazzling debut

As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we'll reveal one per day, continuing with ...

No. 3: Juan Soto's arrival

The Nationals had long touted a prized prospect of theirs, a young outfielder who signed out of the Dominican Republic and had since been dazzling in the minor leagues, poised to burst onto the scene so soon that the organization might just have Bryce Harper's long-term replacement ready to go.

His name was Victor Robles, and he was universally perceived as the most likely superstar in the Nats farm system.

Robles may yet prove to live up to that hype, but there's no denying that he was leapfrogged this year by another young Dominican outfielder whose light-speed rise through the minors and jaw-dropping rookie season in the majors made him one of baseball's best stories of 2018.

Juan Soto isn't just the future. He's already proven he's the present.

Club officials and those who follow the Nationals farm system closely knew Soto was lurking. Some considered him all along a better hitting prospect than Robles. But the simple fact was he was 19 years old, with only 83 games of minor league experience under his belt, none of those above low-Single-A when the season began.

Soto, though, produced a 1.300 OPS in 16 games at Hagerstown to begin the year, earning a quick promotion to Potomac. Fifteen games and a 1.256 OPS later, he was promoted again, this time to Double-A Harrisburg. And then, only eight games later, when the Nationals found themselves desperate for more outfield help following injuries to Howie Kendrick, Adam Eaton, Brian Goodwin, Rafael Bautista and Robles, Soto got the surprise promotion to the majors.

The plan was to ease the kid in, let him learn the ropes as a part-timer and learn just as much watching from the dugout. He had other ideas.

"I sat with (general manager Mike Rizzo) in the office, thinking we'll play him against righties, give him days off, play him two or three times a week," manager Davey Martinez recalled. "I put him in the first game and never took him out. I had to beg him to take one day off. And he drove me nuts that one day, so I put him back in and never took him out again."

Soto insisted he could play every day, and his performance more than backed it up. He hit .321 with a .978 OPS in his first month in the majors. By season's end, his batting average had never dipped below .287, and he never went three games in a row without reaching base.

Soto stood out for much more than his numbers, though. What impressed veterans, coaches and anyone else who laid eyes on him this season was his advanced approach at the plate. His ability to spread out and make contact with two strikes. His quick study of opposing pitchers and ability to make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat. His "hit-it-the-other-way" mindset every time he swung the bat.

"I've never seen a 19-year-old kid break down pitching and hitting and mechanics like he does," Martinez said.

Soto's stunning performance would have made him the slam-dunk Rookie of the Year in just about any season. But he wound up finishing runner-up to Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who put together a remarkable rookie season of his own.

No matter, because Soto's stock could not be any higher heading into 2019. If the Nationals don't re-sign Harper - and that's still a big if - Martinez might well find himself constructing a daily lineup that is built around the now-20-year-old Soto, who might just become the club's No. 3 hitter.

Time will tell whether Soto has both the skill and the fortitude to be the centerpiece of a big league lineup and make local fans forget about Harper. But after witnessing what we saw from this previously unknown prospect when he was thrust into the spotlight ahead of schedule, does anyone really want to doubt him?