Pirates struck gold with Gregory Soto transformation nobody saw coming

There are a handful of surprising factors driving the Pittsburgh Pirates' success so far in 2026. Braxton Ashcraft has been tremendous. Pittsburgh's offense has been even better than expected, thanks in large part to Brandon Lowe's hot bat. And don't forget about Gregory Soto, who has allowed just three earned runs and struck out 19 through his first 12 2/3 innings of work for the Bucs.

MLB.com's Jason Mackey shouted out Soto's contributions on Tuesday, noting how much of an improvement Soto has made since last season.

"Soto has seen his average exit velocity drop by 7.8 mph, the fourth-largest drop of any pitcher." Mackey wrote. "His hard hit percentage (-18.9%) qualified as the seventh-biggest drop."

Mackey also noted the effectiveness of Soto's nasty sinker, which opponents are hitting just .077 against this season.

Gregory Soto is looking like an All-Star again in a Pirates uniform

Soto's always had All-Star talent. The Dominican left-hander made 48 saves for the Detroit Tigers across the 2021 and 2022 seasons, making two consecutive All-Star games along the way.

But if you watched Soto with either the Baltimore Orioles or New York Mets last season, you might've been convinced that his best days were behind him. Soto went 1-5 in 2025 with a 4.18 ERA, and just one save in 60 1/3 total innings between Baltimore and Queens.

The Orioles tossed away Soto for a pair of minor league arms before the 2025 deadline, and the Mets weren't interested in re-signing Soto after spending a couple of months with him. One or both of these clubs might be regretting their stances on Soto at the moment.

The Pirates signed Soto to a one-year, $7.75 million, "let's see if you can be dominant again" type of contract in December, and so far, Soto has answered that question in the affirmative, much to Pittsburgh's delight.

The Pirates look like a playoff team through the first 24 games of the season. Their mega-talented starting rotation and improved lineup will continue to produce wins and keep Pittsburgh in the wildly competitive National League Central race, barring injuries.

But for Pittsburgh to win close games in a theoretical playoff series, it'll need Soto to continue his dominance and look like his All-Star self when October rolls around.

If the Pirates can maintain a forceful late-inning corps of Soto and Dennis Santana (Isaac Mattson has been impressive, too!), they'll be able to string together some fearsome nine-inning performances between a strong starting pitcher outing from one of their studs and a shut-the-door outing from one of the above relievers. Pittsburgh's playoff formula is already coming into view.

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