Youngster Soto a fast learner

Juan Soto paused mid-sentence, stared into the tablecloth in front of him, and motioned with his hands as if he were opening and closing a Slinky. He couldn’t think of a word. It was somewhere in his brain, somewhere in all those Rosetta Stone lessons, somewhere in all the conversations he’s had with U.S. teammates since he was signed by the Washington Nationals in 2015.

He looked to his left, to interpreter Octavio Martinez, to see if he could help come up with it. Then two reporters asked: “Range?”

“Range! Range!” Soto said, pointing in their direction, as baseball players do to recognize a job well done.

Soto, 20, grew up speaking Spanish in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. When he’s on the field, it’s easy to forget how young he really is.

But speaking from a small stage to about 50 people in the cramped news conference room at Nationals Park before last Tuesday’s wild-card game, Soto was that kid again. It was the largest crowd he had ever done an all-English interview with.

It looked like he was trying to solve a puzzle, each question a challenge, each answer an opportunity, and every passing moment revealing this about the Nationals’ present and future cornerstone: Juan Soto is a very fast learner. His English is just one very good example.

“There are players, very few of them, who are able to just pick anything up quickly,” said Johnny Dipuglia, the Nationals’ head of international operations, before this season. “Juan is one of them. It could be hitting or fielding or speaking English. His English has gotten so good in such a short period of time. It’s a special talent. That’s what makes him a star.”