Juan Soto may no longer be hitting in front of “the best hitter in baseball,” but “the best hitter in baseball” believes the $765 million man will be just fine.
A day after Soto explained to The Post’s Mike Puma that pitchers are attacking him differently this season because he is no longer batting in front of Aaron Judge, the comments made their way back to the Yankees’ two-time AL MVP.
Judge said he was not going to get into a back-and-forth with Soto on the matter, but downplayed his own part in it.
“[Soto has] got probably one of the best hitters in the game behind him right now with what [Pete] Alonso’s doing,” Judge said Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. “It’s been fun to watch. He’s hitting close to .400 [.345 entering Tuesday], driving the ball all over the field, driving guys in. They’re going to be just fine.
Mets right fielder Juan Soto at bat during a game against the Twins on April 14, 2025.Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
“I’ve seen Soto now watching the league for so many years and then getting a chance to see him up close — you can look at what I did last April for an example. Just keep being himself and he’s going to be just fine.”
After having arguably the best season of his accomplished career last year with the Yankees, Soto entered Tuesday batting .250 with two home runs and an .829 OPS in just 16 games with the Mets.
He indicated he has gotten fewer pitches to hit than he did last season, when pitchers had to pick their poison between the most fearsome Nos. 2 and 3 hitters in the game in Soto and Judge.
“It’s definitely different,” Soto told The Post on Monday. “I had the best hitter in baseball hitting behind me. I was getting more attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that. I was pitched differently last year.”
Aaron Judge (l.) and Juan Soto (r.) during a Yankees game last season.Robert Sabo for NY Post
Judge, as he referenced, had his own slow start last April while hitting behind Soto, batting .207 with six home runs and a .754 OPS through 31 games entering May before catching fire for his second MVP season.
