Contributed by Chad Guell

Have you heard Juan Soto is having a down year with the Padres. Juan Soto is currently in his 7th season and yet he is only 24 years old! He was so good coming into the big leagues as a teenager that many people forget that he is only 24. It feels like he is 30 something! He just accomplished a career stat of 140 HR's and 500 Walks. There are only 2 other players in MLB history to accomplish this and they are Frank Thomas and Ted Williams. That is some pretty good elite company there. Most MLB players don't hit there prime age until they are 23-27 years old. He is currently playing on a 1 year contact for the Padres too. Players tend to perform better in contact years. So far this year he is hitting .272 with 15 Hr's, 47 RBI's, 82 Walks, a .425 OBP, .490 SLG, and an OPS of .915. Those numbers don't suggest he is having a down year at all! Yet, the perception is that he is struggling. He is traditionally a better 2nd half player than 1st half too so watch out for this guy after the all star break!

This Padres team was expected to compete for the Division this year, and they are currently 4th place. Many are wondering if the Padres will be sellers at the trade deadline. All of this speculation has led his cards to drop sharply this year. Now is the time to get in on the dip before Soto has his typical second half surge, and before he signs a new contract with someone probably north of $400,000,000. Let's take a look at some of his more desirable cards.