Juan Soto, will return to the All-Star Game and represent the Washington Nationals

For the second straight season, Juan Soto will take his place among baseball’s best at the All-Star Game. On Sunday, the Washington Nationals star was named a reserve outfielder for the National League at the July 19 matchup at Dodger Stadium.

Richard Wachtel

Jul 11, 2022 - 1 min read

In a season full of ups and downs, the Washington Nationals will be solely represented by OF Juan Soto for the second straight year. Sunday, evening it was announced that the new "Face of the franchise" will be traveling to L.A. to participate in the 2022 MLB All-star game. This is Soto’s second selection as a reserve after making his All-Star debut in 2021.

“It feels great to be part of it representing the Washington Nationals,” Soto said, adding, “The first time was really fun, so I hope this one [is], too.”

So far this year, Soto (23), is hitting .243/.398/.473 with 17 home runs and a .871 OPS. He leads all of baseball with 73 walks, a category in which he paced the league last year. Soto entered Sunday leading all National League outfielders in on-base percentage and ranking second among them in weighted on-base average (wOBA) and weighted runs created plus (wRC+).

“All the work I put in, these are things I dreamed of since I was a little kid,” Soto said. “It makes me really proud [of] myself and what I have done. I’m really thankful for the fans because, without them, I wouldn’t be up here.”

Soto will join former Washington Nationals teammate Trea Turner in LA by being selected to the All-Star game. When asked by MLB.com about playing with Turner again on the same field and being in the same dugout again, Soto said, “We’re going to have fun...I hope we’re going to have a good time there, and try to convince him to come back. We will see.” Last year after Turner was traded to the Dodgers, Soto showed up in LA to cheer on his former teammate Trea Turner and Max Scherzer in the first round of the MLB playoffs.

Manager Dave Martinez was selected to the National League coaching staff by Braves manager Brian Snitker. This will be Martinez’s fourth All-Star coaching experience.

“It feels great to be out there and be on the list of all the all-stars that the Washington Nationals have had in the past and be around those guys.”