Signing with the Boston Red Sox as an international free agent in 2025, Dorian Soto received the highest bonus of their entire class. Thanks to his ability to play shortstop and penchant for producing solid contact, many viewed Soto as a rising prospect before he signed.

The 18-year-old played his first professional season in the Dominican Summer League last year, appearing in 47 games and showcasing his tremendous bat. In that span, he managed to hit .307/.362/.428 with 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 18 RBIs.

As a hitter, Soto bats from both sides of the plate and displays solid bat speed along with strong barrel control for someone of his age. Scouts have viewed Soto’s swing decisions as being quite advanced, while his contact skills remain one of his premier skills.

Soto’s 90th percentile exit velocity reached 102 mph as a 17-year-old thanks in part to his ability to generate bat speed with a sometimes long swing. While aggressive, the shortstop has strong bat-to-ball ability which allowed him to have a strikeout rate of just 16% despite being aggressive at the plate.

Though he's a true switch hitter, Soto showed better results as a left-handed batter as he slashed .311/.372/.432 compared to a stat line of .294/.324/.412 as a right-handed batter. Whether a wrist injury that limited his ability to bat from the right side of the plate had an effect on his production is yet to be known.

Soto has shown average raw power in his first season, though scouts expect that to inflate as he grows older. His 6-foot-3 frame is impressive, and he still has room to grow and fill out, which will add more power to his game.

Defensively, Soto is primarily a shortstop, but it is unknown if he will be able to stick there considering he’s already 6-foot-3 and still growing. Last season, he showcased natural movements at shortstop but also saw some time at both third base and second base. Should he be moved off of shortstop, third base seems to be his likely landing point due to his strong arm and potential power.

The only real negative about Soto at the moment appears to be his speed, as it’s been viewed as his worst tool that could drop to below-average territory as he continues to grow.

Soto is very young and it’s hard to project what he could end up as, but his potential is through the roof. In a best-case scenario, he'll be batting in the middle of the Red Sox's lineup in a few years. Of course, that all depends on how he develops over the next few seasons.

Soto will begin 2026 in the Florida Complex League as he adjusts to playing stateside for the first time in his career. The young infielder could very well follow in Justin Gonzales’ footsteps of playing very briefly (Gonzales played exactly one game) in the Complex League before heading to Low-A Salem.