Juan Soto who is considered the premier hitter in the major leagues today commanded a staggering 765M over 16 years from the New York Mets this offseason. Yordan Álvarez who has 2668 PA in his career has better numbers than Soto over that same span. Now I have two questions?
How much is Yordan Álvarez worth and is he a better hitter than Juan Soto? Álvarez is quietly one of MLB’s best hitters and the best player to leave the Serie Nacional. In the following paragraphs am going to prove my point statistically. Just imagine what a Yordan Álvarez sweepstakes would look like if he were a free agent this offseason.
In his 2668 PA Álvarez has a better WAR (23.7 to 23.1), more hits (683 to 612), more homeruns (164 to 125), more RBIs (466 to 374), a higher batting average (.298 to .287) , a higher SLG/OPS/OPS+ (.583/.973/166 to .526/.950/157) over this span. In fact Soto is only superior to Álvarez in stolen bases and OBP. If gauge this comparison based on the sample size we are given there is no way one can say Soto is superior to Álvarez.
When we head into advanced metrics once again Álvarez comes out on top. In wRC+ which determines the hitters ability to create runs the Cuban is superior to Soto (166 to 158). In ISO (Isolated Power) which determines a hitters true power Soto once again is inferior to Álvarez (.285 to .248). In wOBA a more precise way to measure OBP Soto falls to Álvarez (.406 to .404). In BABIP which determines how often a batter puts the ball in play excluding homeruns Álvarez once again comes out on top (.322 to .305). In today’s modern game which is sabermetrically driven Álvarez is the far superior hitter.
Although Álvarez does not play in the field as much as Soto he is far superior in just about every statistical category. To be honest neither is a good fielder. Soto leads Álvarez in fielding percentage (.990 to .983). But sabermatrically Soto is inferior to Álvarez. The Cuban is superior to Soto in DRS (-2 to -15), UZR (2.5 to -13.8), UZR/150 (2.2 to -2.4), while Álvarez is also far superior in ARM ( 8.9to -4.8). In Soto’s defense he does have a better ErrR (3.9 to 0.1).
With the case that has been presented how can one not say that Yordan Álvarez is not only in Soto’s class but maybe even the superior player. The case has been presented and the numbers are in the open, feel free to make your determination and choose the better of the two players.