Juan Soto Did it All in His Yankees Debut

Juan Soto has already made an impact for the New York Yankees and it's not even April yet. In his Yankees' debut the outfield, playing on a one-year, $31 million deal, went 1-for-3 at the plate, drove in a run and threw out what would have been a game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros.

What more could the Yankees ask for? Even his All-Star teammates, like Aaron Judge, are impressed with what they've seen and it's only one game into the season.

“Juan’s debut, that was pretty special out of him. Come up, get his first hit, first at-bat, he takes a walk. Then come up there and, biggest moment of the game and just be cool, calm and collected and deliver a strike home."

The Astros had two on with one out in the bottom of the ninth when Kyle Tucker singled to right. Fortunately for the Yankees, the ball bounced right into Soto's glove on one hop and he came up throwing. Soto's throw was just in time for Jose Trevino to tag out a sliding Maruricio Dubon and preserve the lead. It's the kind of play that made the Yankees want Soto in the first place, but it's also a reminder of why they or some other team is going to have to pay a premium to lock up the 25-year- old long-term.

Stephen Douglas is a writer at The Big Lead.