The MLB Draft is a fun few days where players from both high school and college join the ranks of professional baseball. It’s a great time for organizations to inject high-end talent into their system and begin to develop them into championship-caliber players. It also becomes a fun benchmark time, to look at players drafted last year and see how they are developing.
Charlee Soto is a right handed pitcher who was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 34th overall pick in the 2023 draft as a prep pitcher out of Florida. He was still 17 at the time of the draft, and a converted shortstop who was new to pitching, but was able to touch the upper-90’s with his fastball. It wasn’t until the 2024 season when an 18-year-old Soto made his professional debut with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Twins Low-A affiliate. Through his first 15 starts, Soto has posted an ERA north of 5, but has recorded 60 strikeouts across 48.2 innings. Let’s break down the arsenal, and see why the excitement is still there, even if the results haven’t been.
Fastball
As previously mentioned, Soto throws an upper-90’s fastball that has been sitting mostly in the 97-98 MPH range, per the announcers. He’s also appeared to mix in a sinker variation as well.
Even with the good velocity, Soto has some trouble getting whiffs on this pitch. He tried to climb the ladder with two strikes several times in each start I watched, and each time the ball was fouled away. With the hitters only getting better, that is something to monitor as Soto climbs the ranks. That being said, velocity plays. So this pitch will still be a helpful offering, even if it never grows into a pitch he can use to get consistent whiffs.
The command of this pitch is not as present as with his secondaries. Soto hit a couple batters with his fastball when I watched him throw, though to be fair it was a rainy night. He would also miss the zone pretty badly with his fastball at times.
Keep in mind, Soto is still 18-years-old and touching upper-90’s. This will be a pitch he needs to learn to harness and use against professional hitters. He’s already hitting 98 MPH, so 100 MPH shouldn’t be out of reach. This isn’t a pitch to worry about, but it is less far along than his changeup. Still, with the high velocity this pitch is going to grade out above average, if not plus.
Changeup
Soto’s changeup was generally in the 86-88 range on the broadcasts. This is very clearly his best pitch and the one he feels most confident going to for anything. It is the featured pitch for him against left handed hitters.
One of the things Soto really likes to do with this pitch is front door lefties with it. He starts it on their hip and it runs over the plate. There were times in each start where he leaned very heavily into this location. It was successful more often then not. It shows that Soto has excellent command of this offering to his glove side.
It is very apparent that Soto was comfortable using his changeup in any count, regardless of if the hitter is left handed or right handed. He’s not afraid to throw same-handed hitters changeups, though he does tend to use more fastballs and sliders in that situation.
This pitch gets a lot of movement and is commanded well. At present it’s Soto’s best pitch, and likely continues to be as he develops. This has every indication of being a plus offering.
Slider
The arsenal rounds out with a slider that is also in the 86-88 range. This pitch is his least used of the three. According to Baseball America, Soto generated around 2400 RPM spin during his pre draft process.
Soto’s slider has some good bite to it. It is used successfully for whiffs when breaking off the plate against same-handed hitters, and that is mostly how it’s utilized. He tries to backdoor lefties with the slider at times to give a different look off his changeup, and his command to his glove side with this offering is very good.
The continued development of this pitch is going to play a key part in the future role of Soto. It’s already a solid offering, and it should continue to improve as Soto develops. This has the makings of a good third pitch that can generate whiffs and give a different look. I would project this to be an average offering, but it certainly could wind up with a 55 grade.
Overall
Soto is a very impressive pitcher. He didn’t have the most experience on the mound on draft day, but still was selected 34th overall as a pitcher, which says a lot about his pure ability. He backs it up by having really good velocity and secondaries. Command and consistency will be the biggest question as Soto continues to progress up the rungs of the Twins farm system.
There is a road where Soto has two plus pitches and an above average third pitch to work with, which is extremely promising. His high velocity fastball and already really good changeup have built an exceptional base to grow from. It might take some time to fully learn how to use his fastball and slider as well as he uses his changeup, but there is a really exciting future ahead of Soto.
If all works out, Soto has a mid-rotation ceiling. He should be able to rack up plenty of strikeouts with his high octane stuff. Don’t be deterred by his first 15 starts, because there will be a moment where it clicks and Soto’s stock begins to rise at a rapid pace.