LOS ANGELES — You have to throw a strike. 

“You have to come into the zone because he doesn’t chase,” Astros ace Justin Verlander said. 

And it isn’t exactly like you can just come into the strike zone because, “I can’t explain it, but he just seems to know what is coming,” Cubs catcher Willson Contreras said. 

And it isn’t like familiarity is going to give you an edge against Juan Soto. 

“We faced him for seven straight games and we really didn’t have a good answer for it,” Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said, referencing when he was with the Astros competing against Soto’s Nationals in the 2019 World Series. “He’s super disciplined. But it is more than that. It doesn’t matter with great hitters like him when it comes to leverage [with the count] because if they get the pitch they want to hit, they’ll swing regardless of the count. … He covers the high fastball. He covers the slider and maybe you can change speeds and he is susceptible every once in a while, but you are pretty much going for a mishit or you are trying to surprise him with a good pitch on the corner. That’s pretty much your only shot.” 

Because it isn’t like the moment is going to get to Soto. 

“It is a special talent,” said Kyle Schwarber, Soto’s National teammate last year and his NL East rival as a Phillie now. “He is the most mature 23-year-old in history.” 

Oh yeah, there is the age. 

“Think about what he has done in four years, and he’s only 23,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who as a Brave competed against Soto over and over. “He’s putting up numbers that we are going to talk about in like 60 years and we will look back and say how much fun it was to watch him, kind of like Mike Trout.” 

The testimonials flow easily from Soto’s fellow All-Stars. Real knows real. Which is why when I asked Cole if the Yankees should move heaven, earth and their best prospects to land arguably the preeminent hitter among preeminent hitters, he responded, “Any team should move heaven and earth to go get him, and the Nationals should be trying to keep him.” 

Soto rejected the Nationals’ 15-year, $440 million extension offer recently and — without the deal — Washington let Soto’s camp and the industry know that Soto is available now. There have been other exceptional players traded in recent years such as Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Manny Machado and Trea Turner — all All-Stars this year — but it is difficult to find anyone who combines the youth, control (Soto cannot be a free agent until after the 2024 season) and ceiling (his comps through age 23 are players such as Trout, Frank Robinson and Ted Williams). 

He can swing a pennant race(s), and his peers know it. 

“Hopefully he doesn’t hit one over the fence is typically what I’m thinking [when Soto bats],” Pete Alonso said. “He’s one of those guys that you circle, highlight, star and underline and say, ‘Hey, this guy’s not beating us,’ because he is such a great, great, talented player.” 

Soto has drawn 79 walks (against 54 strikeouts) and walked in 20.1 percent of his plate appearances this year — both major league highs. That reflects Soto’s preternatural hitting eye. But also playing on the majors’ worst team. Even with Josh Bell having a fantastic season, like Alonso said, no team wants to let Soto beat it. 

But contenders are going to imagine him hitting between, say, Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado with the Cardinals or Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. (when he returns from injury) with the Padres or Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton with the Yankees, etc. 

Soto — for Soto — struggled somewhat early in the season. But he has been more familiar of late, including 15 games in July in which he is hitting .409 with a 1.430 OPS. In his career against the pitchers named All-Stars this year he is 50-for-160 (.313) with 12 homers and nearly as many walks (26) as strikeouts (29), including 4-for-6 with two homers versus Cole (including the postseason). 

“You know with guys like [Bryce] Harper, Freeman and Soto you just gotta be perfect,” said Edwin Diaz, against whom Soto has two homers in eight at-bats. “You can’t miss your spot because if you do he’s not going to miss it.” 

Soto arrived at this All-Star break with 20 homers, a .405 on-base percentage and an OPS 62 percent over MLB average factoring ballpark and league. Here is the list of those who did better through age-23 with a minimum of 2,000 plate appearances: Williams, Ty Cobb, Trout, Albert Pujols, end of list. It is why the ask by the Nationals is great and the line to try to obtain Soto long. 

“Early in the year when we played when we looked at some of these numbers, me and [Dodgers catcher Austin] Barnes were talking about what you do to pitch to him and where’s his weaknesses are and there’s not really any,” said Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner, long Soto’s National teammate. “So it’s fun to watch if you’re on his team, and not fun to watch if you are not.”