DENVER -- Juan Soto moved up another spot in the record books as he nears the end of one of the best seasons ever by a teenager. Soto launched a solo home run in the fifth inning of Saturday's 12-2 victory at Coors Field, his 22nd home run of the season, matching Bryce Harper for the second-most homers by a teenager in MLB history.
Soto trails only Tony Conigliaro, who hit 24 homers in 1964, for the most all-time before a player's 20th birthday. That gives Soto just one more game to move up on that list, however, as he turns 20 on Oct. 25.
"Yeah. I wanted to be there, I wanted to be [listed] with those Hall of Fame guys," Soto said. "Keep climbing until the final [game] and lets see what happens."
Soto's latest homer was a moonshot, as he took a 2-2 pitch from Chad Bettis and deposited it into the second deck in right field. It was measured at 440 feet, according to Statcast™, making it the longest home run of Soto's career.
Saturday was also Soto's 115th game of the season, easily the most the rookie has played in his professional career. And while his OPS has dipped the past two months from his scorching hot start, he still entered this game with an .877 OPS this month with six home runs. He joked with hitting coach Kevin Long on Saturday that he could play for another month.
"He's been outstanding since we got him, day one," manager Dave Martinez said. "His maturity for a 19-year-old is beyond his years and he's only going to get better. I really believe that. He's so passionate about the game, he loves the game, he loves to play."