Geovany Soto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Chicago Cubs — No. 18 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: January 20, 1983 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 23, 2005 for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2008) |
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| Batting average | .303 |
| Home runs | 13 |
| Runs batted in | 49 |
| Teams | |
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Geovany Soto (born January 20, 1983 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball catcher, currently on the Chicago Cubs 25-man roster.
[edit] Professional career
Selected by the Chicago Cubs 318th overall in the 11th Round of the 2001 amateur draft, he made his major league debut on September 23, 2005 against the Houston Astros. He was recalled by the Cubs on July 12, 2007, but only had 1 hit in 7 at bats.[1] In September 2007, when the Cubs expanded their roster, he joined the team again. This was mainly because in the minor leagues that year, he batted .353 with 26 home runs and 109 RBI and was named the Pacific Coast League's MVP while playing for the Iowa Cubs.[2] After his call-up in September, Soto had an average of .389.[1] Soto started for the Cubs during the 2007 playoff series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In game 2 of the series, Soto hit a home run into the left field bleachers at Chase Field giving the Cubs an early 2-0 lead. The Cubs ended up losing that game but it further solidified him as the Cubs' full-time catcher going into 2008, with Jason Kendall moving on to Milwaukee as a free agent.
Arguably the best offensive performance in Soto's young career came April 30, 2008 in a rout against the Brewers. Soto hit two 3-run homers to account for 6 of the Cubs' 19 RBIs, only a few days removed from a two game stretch against the Nationals in which he struck out in 8 consecutive at-bats. Geovany Soto was voted the National League Rookie of the Month for April 2008 after hitting .341 with five home runs, eight doubles, and 20 RBIs, with an OPS of 1.059.[3] On May 19, 2008, he scored his first career Inside-the-park home run against the Houston Astros.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Stats: Individual Player Game Log - Geovany Soto C. Major League Baseball. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Player Statistics: Geovany Soto. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Mike Scarr (2008-05-09). Soto catches Gillette rookie honor. Major League Baseball. Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Geovany Soto's inside-the-park homer paces Cubs' 7-2 win. Los Angeles Times (2008-05-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
[edit] External links
- Yahoo bio
- MLB.com bio
- The Book on Geovany Soto from ScoutingBook.com
- Baseball Prospectus: Geovany Soto
