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HOUSTON — When Nationals scout Johnny DiPuglia signed Juan Soto a decade ago, it wasn’t Soto’s hit tool that impressed DiPuglia at first. In fact, Soto wasn’t much of a hitter back then. He mainly pitched, and possessed a bag full of breaking pitches and an uncertain baseball future.

Soto’s greatest attributes only started to surface about the time DiPuglia’s Nats gambled $1.5M on him in 2015. Eventually, that would be Soto’s plate discipline and patience (not to mention his eyesight).

Each time DiPuglia went to scout him, the swing improved, which he originally marked only as “intriguing.” But what DiPuglia noticed was his obvious calm and confidence. 

“He had good makeup, really good mental fortitude and a work ethic,” DiPuglia recalled by phone.