ATLANTA – Jorge Soler is not dynamic enough to compare Ronald Acuña Jr. But the outfielder has had enough talent to help fill the void created by the knee injury that ended Acuña’s season.
Soler has spent the past five weeks enjoying a power-up rivaling the one that led him to a 48-homer season for the Royals in 2019. But he has also shown the skill to achieve timely success, as he did with a key single during the fifth five-run run that led the Braves to a 6-2 win over the Marlins Friday night at Truist Park.
In the process, Soler has rewarded the Braves for not using him primarily as a right-wing pioneer since he was acquired from the Royals in the commercial term.
“We talked to the Kansas City guys and they were the ones who said,‘ He’s pretty good, you should probably get him in. [the lineup]”I’m sure we’re happy. He’s had great hits and some good bats.”
The Soler single scored three runs when he rolled under the glove of Marlins center fielder Bryan De La Cruz. De La Cruz’s error was one of two errors in the inning that condemned the Marlins and propelled the Braves to a win that put them 4 1/2 games ahead of runner-up Phillies with 22 games left.
Atlanta’s bet to win a fourth consecutive NL East crown was significantly reinforced on the July 30 trade deadline, when the Braves acquired Soler of the Royals, Adam Duvall of the Marlins and Eddie Rosario of the Indians. Two weeks earlier, they had begun their exterior rebuilding by acquiring Game Pederson of the Cubs.
Pederson has become the leader of the clubhouse and delivered a simple match against the national team on Thursday. Rosario has provided some value since he came off the injured list and Duvall has scored in 12 of his 37 games for the Braves. But from an offensive perspective, the most valuable addition to the field has been Soler.
“It’s been a great experience,” Soler said through an interpreter. “It’s great to join a team that wins like this. For me, it has been an amazing experience. “
Soler is batting .285 with 10 homers and 0.914 OPS in 36 games for the Braves. He had hit .192 with 13 homers and a .658 OPS in the 94 games he played for the Royals before the negotiation.
When the Braves acquired Soler in exchange for Major League Relief pitcher Kasey Kalich, they knew they were risking defensively, as the 29-year-old slugger had been used primarily as a designated hitter in recent years in Kansas City. But while Soler hasn’t looked like a Gold Glove candidate, he has been no responsibility for Atlanta in the right field.
The Braves also risked placing Soler in second place in the formation. Putting Soler at the helm of current MVP Freddie Freeman has allowed him to see a slightly higher percentage of fastballs (49.7% vs. 47.6%) than he did this year for the Royals.
“I think it’s been a great experience to be able to hit in front of Freddie,” Soler said. “By hitting in front of a guy like that, I think pitchers are forced to throw me more shots in the area. I just looked for good shots to drive and I’ve focused on waiting for good shots in the area.”
While the percentage has not been significantly different, the pitchers are forced to attack him more carefully than they did while spending the first four months of this season with the Royals. He has responded productively. His .373 base percentage for the Braves easily exceeds his .288 OBP for Kansas City.
The march rate before the Soler transaction (10.6 percent) was slightly lower than the march rate after the transaction (12.6 percent). More impressive is the fact that its pre-negotiation stop rate (26.9%) was significantly higher than the post-negotiation stop rate (19.4%).
“If it was me, I’d want to hit in front of Freddie,” Snitker said. “But [Soler] he is not enlarging the area and is walking. I was impressed by this about him. It is selective. He is patient, he is attacking and he is ready to hurt ”.
Travis d’Arnaud doubled to start the decisive fifth and Ehire Adrianza fueled the entry with an RBI single that chased the top National League newcomer of the year Trevor Rogers, who allowed four maximum season runs in just 4 1/3 tickets. Right-hander Zach Thompson destroyed Ozzie Albies before allowing Soler to send his simple pass through midfield and midfield.
Soler’s bases clearing single backed an encouraging effort from Ian Anderson, who equalized his maximum run with nine attacks while allowing just two runs in five innings. Anderson had not recorded any attacks in any of his previous two starts after spending seven weeks on the injured list due to inflammation of his right shoulder.
“[Soler] it’s been amazing, ”Anderson added.“ You have that atmosphere again that we’re going to be very successful or we’re going to make the big game. Without a doubt, it has been an important part of recovering this ”.