This week we kick off an on-going off-season series here at Prospects Live based around debating two players with similar profiles. We’re obviously splitting hairs on these guys, but that’s the point. To dig in, have some uncomfortable conversations and provide some differing perspectives. Feel free to hop into the comments and add your two cents. Suggestions for future battles are encouraged as well. Enjoy!

Lance

Acuña and Soto are similar players looking at aggregate production. A few key differences make me want to invest in Acuña over Soto. What Soto has working for him is an extremely advanced knowledge of the strike zone and probably the most advanced pitch recognition we’ve seen in a 19-year-old. What he hasn’t shown in his near-500 plate appearance sample is the ability to hit breaking balls at an advanced level (I’m nit-picking here) or lift balls like Acuña. Soto could very well adjust out of his 87th percentile ground-ball rate, but for now I’ll take Acuña’s swing and miss. I think a more discipline Acuña would be scarier than a “lifted” version Juan Soto, but this is really splitting hairs.

Matt

For me, if we’re looking at this through a fantasy lens, I’ll take Ronald Acuña over Juan Soto. Not many players have the ability to steal 25+ bases like Acuña does, and he can also pair those 25 swipes with 25+ bombs too. If we’re talking about pure hitting ability it’s hard to find much fault in Soto’s .406 OBP as a 19-year old and his beautiful all fields approach. Acuña has significantly more pull-side power according to the eye test, but Soto has that Joey Votto-esque ability to not chase anything while hitting the ball to any specific point in the park. Defensively, Acuña is the more athletic of the pair and would’ve played centerfield in some organizations. Soto is limited to LF only. Overall I’ll take Acuña because he has a chance at becoming a top five overall player in the game soon because he can contribute in all five categories and has all five tools.

Jason Woodell

I don’t like this question. That must make it a question worth answering. Offensively, this comes down to a pick your preference situation. Soto has the superior eye and bat-to-ball skills. His age 19 season is one for the record books. He posted the highest OBP (.406) and OPS (.923) as a teenager in MLB history. Let that sink in. His name is already linked to teammate Bryce Harper and the legendary Ken Griffey, Jr. What makes his feat even more impressive is that he did this after just 35 plate appearances in AA. If that isn’t crazy enough, Soto only played 23 games last season.

Acuña, on the other hand, was subject to service time manipulation to start the year. The prospect world patiently awaited his arrival. Acuña rebounded from a near-miss ACL injury to post 26 HR and 16 SB and a .552 SLG. His 15 HR after August 1 led the Braves to the NL East division title. Acuña’s speed and defense prowess are the great separator between he and Soto. So I’m going with Acuña. More power and more speed is hard to pass up. Soto has a chance to produce Votto-esque numbers while Acuña has the tools to surpass Trout as the best overall player in the game.

Jason Pennini

This is a cruel question and asking it is akin to asking a parent who their favorite child is. I have seen both players, and I loved both of them. Acuña does it all. I could list the five tools, but you know what they are. Soto’s approach at the plate and use of all fields was uber advanced. What he did in the majors at 19 this season was incredible. The contrarian asshole in me wanted to pick Soto, but when I look at some of the Baseball Savant data it becomes difficult to go in that direction. One sign that suggests Acuña is the safer bet to maintain his performance is his performance vs non fastballs. This chart lends itself to the idea that there are more ways to attack Soto than Acuña. Acuña also had the better hard hit rate. To be reductive, if we are picking between the guy who may be Trout 2.0 and the guy who may be Votto 2.0, give me the fish.