Joe Simpson’s Saturday Night Rant

The thing with Soto is that it's not just one thing that makes you think he's older. It's everything.

If it was just that he was bulky you might be able to write it off as him just being an extreme outlier in body type.

If it was just that his face looks like a 30 year old you might write it off as him just having an old face.

If it was just that he had an advanced eye you could write it off as him just having that special ability.

It's not one thing. It's everything. He's not got the slim build of a 19 year old but an old face. He's not got a young face and youthful approach with a bulky body. He's not a youthful looking, slight framed kid with a great eye.

He's got the build of someone in their late 20's, the face of someone in their late 20's or early 30's, and the eye of a hitter with 10 years more experience than he's got. All together I find that completely unbelievable.

If his listed age was 23 I could maybe buy it. He'd still seem older but it would at least be plausible that he could just be someone who looks old. I just can't buy that he's 19. There's nothing about him that looks 19. Compare him to Acuna and you'll see how huge the difference is.
 
striker42 said:
Lots of players have waited and then years later are suddenly discovered to be years older than they say. If you're not discovered until late or are a late bloomer then you can make a lot more saying you're 16 instead of 23. If you're 23 you probably don't get signed at all.
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Someone with the talents of Soto would get signed regardless of age. You may have a point with fringe players but Soto isn't that. Seems like he just has a body that matured really fast.
 
striker42 said:
"He is ... if he's 19, he has certainly got his man growth," Simpson said on Fox Sports South. "He is big and strong."
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yeah, dang, it's not like he accused him or anything. it sounds more in good fun than anything, but perhaps i'm still missing something.
 
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striker42 said:
The thing with Soto is that it's not just one thing that makes you think he's older. It's everything.

If it was just that he was bulky you might be able to write it off as him just being an extreme outlier in body type.

If it was just that his face looks like a 30 year old you might write it off as him just having an old face.

If it was just that he had an advanced eye you could write it off as him just having that special ability.

It's not one thing. It's everything. He's not got the slim build of a 19 year old but an old face. He's not got a young face and youthful approach with a bulky body. He's not a youthful looking, slight framed kid with a great eye.

He's got the build of someone in their late 20's, the face of someone in their late 20's or early 30's, and the eye of a hitter with 10 years more experience than he's got. All together I find that completely unbelievable.

If his listed age was 23 I could maybe buy it. He'd still seem older but it would at least be plausible that he could just be someone who looks old. I just can't buy that he's 19. There's nothing about him that looks 19. Compare him to Acuna and you'll see how huge the difference is.
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and he doesn't move loosely like a 19 year old either. He moves like Albert Pujols in STL did in 2010
 
thewupk said:
Someone with the talents of Soto would get signed regardless of age. You may have a point with fringe players but Soto isn't that. Seems like he just has a body that matured really fast.
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Maybe. It's hard for a 20+ year old player to get signed out of Latin America (Cuba excepted). If you're the Latin American Roy Hobbs, you still aren't going to get paid much.

Soto got a $1.5 million signing bonus. If he was a 23 year old late bloomer, what does he get? Maybe $50K.

The incentives for lying about your age can still be huge. It still happens. Guys have just gotten a lot better at concealing it.
 
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