12-18-2009, 11:46 AM
Soto looked fatter and slower (in all facets of his game), and he wasn't nearly as selective at the plate for long stretches. I'll admit that he was a victim of bad luck, and I'm sure that dragged on him, but at the same time even if you factor in for an above average amount of luck, Soto was probably a .250 hitter at best last season. Add in better conditioning, and maybe he boosts that to .260. I could live with that in a catcher as long as he doesn't continue to regress defensively. I'm just not so sure that poor conditioning was the root of all his problems. It should help, but I'm not convinced.