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Charlee Soto will always remember the summer of 2022 as the one that changed his life.

In a matter of weeks, Soto went from an intriguing but not particularly well-known prospect to one of the biggest helium arms in the 2023 MLB Draft class. But while it was his time on the showcase circuit — where he wowed scouts with electric stuff — that changed the perception others had of him, it was the time he spent in the Dominican Republic for parts of the last two summers that helped him grow most as a person.

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Soto, born in Philadelphia but raised in Kissimmee, Fla., has baseball in his blood. His father, Carlos Sr., was a pitcher, as is his older brother, Carlos Jr. His mother, Wanda, says that as a 3-year-old, her youngest son had no interest in the typical toddler toys.

“He only liked baseball,” she said in a Zoom call late last week. “He didn’t want toys. Only balls and gloves and bats. That’s the only thing he liked.”

Now 17 and just days away from his high school graduation, Charlee Soto is still eschewing the normal amusements of his peer group in favor of baseball. He eats, drinks and sleeps the game as a senior at Reborn Christian Academy in Kissimmee, where his day begins at 8:00 a.m. with Bible study on the field and involves practice and workouts into the early afternoon, when he and his teammates head to the classroom for a school day schedule that lasts until the early evening.

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After dinner and homework, it’s time for bed and the process repeats itself the next day. Even his downtime often involves baseball, volunteering with the Miracle League, which helps make baseball accessible for children with special needs, and dropping in to help one of his coaches’ 10-year-old teams. It’s a grueling schedule, but one that Reborn Christian coach Luis Arzeno — who spent five seasons catching in the Phillies organization — says has instilled Soto with the work ethic he’ll need to succeed in professional baseball.

“We put Charlee in the situation where he understands that this is going to be his life — work, work, work,” Arzeno said on the same Zoom call. “He’s the guy who’s going to go, ‘Hey, we’re ready to work.’”

Those life lessons were reinforced in two trips Soto took with Arzeno to the coach’s native Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Soto’s parents are from Puerto Rico, but Arzeno wanted Soto to develop an understanding of the sacrifices young players in the Dominican Republic have to make to strive for their major-league dream.

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Soto spent six weeks in the Dominican Republic in 2021 and another three weeks at the start of last summer. He learned never to take what he has for granted. He admired the tenacity and determination of the players he met there, including one 12-year-old boy who stood in against him at the plate and never flinched even though Soto was throwing 95 mph.

“They play with a lot of passion. They play the game hard,” Soto said. “It was fun just getting that experience to play in a different country, and to work in a different country with all those guys. They treated me very well, like I was one of them.”

When Soto returned from the Dominican Republic last summer, he jumped into the high school showcase circuit, where he authored standout performance after standout performance. That left him in position to enter the 2023 season as one of the top high school pitching prospects in the country. Last week, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Soto as the 31st-best prospect in this year’s draft and the fourth-best high school pitching prospect. Soto has a commitment to Central Florida, but everything he’s done over the past year has been with an eye on the MLB Draft.

Soto entered his junior season as a two-way player, but as his body sprouted up several inches to his current 6-foot-5 height, it became clear that pitching would be his baseball future. Arzeno said Soto was throwing 90-95 mph from the shortstop position, so they knew they had plenty of arm strength to work with as he moved permanently to the mound. As his position solidified, so did his work in the weight room and he added significant muscle, especially in his lower half. He also took on a six-month program focused on ensuring the health and strength of his scapula.

With that work and physical growth, Soto’s velocity jumped into the upper-90s, and he’s even touched 100 mph with the four-seam fastball. He’s a power pitcher, through and through, with a circle changeup that sits in the mid- to high-80s and a sharp slider. He feels confident he can throw any of his three pitches in any count.

@UCF_Baseball Commit (‘23,FL) RHP Charlee Soto @soto_charlee •last outing of the spring, FB 96-97 has been up to 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣🔥, SL T89 looking like 🥏’s. Raising his #MLBdraft stock. @RebornAcademy @PSBaseballinc pic.twitter.com/lsJNu0oD2g

— Jaidon Jimenez (@jaidonjimenez25) April 28, 2023

Both of his secondaries have evolved over the past 18 months. He adjusted the grip on the circle changeup to improve his command of the pitch and more recently tweaked the slider.

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“It was more like a cutter. I wasn’t getting the slide that I actually wanted,” he said. “I changed the grip and it got a whole different movement, it got a lot of swings and misses this spring. So it was a big pitch for me.”

Last summer, Soto got to test his stuff against the top high school players in the country, competing in a summer showcase circuit that included the Prospect Development Pipeline League run by Team USA and MLB, MLB’s High School All-American Game and several Perfect Game events.

Soto got a crash course in pitching under a microscope, as every event was heavily attended and closely scrutinized by MLB scouts. He admits to having some nerves in his first outing, which was part of the PDP program, but as the summer went on, he learned to block out the stands.

“As I put less pressure on myself, I started seeing improvement because I wasn’t feeling tense or anything like that. I felt loose and I was just letting myself play how I play,” Soto said.

Playing loose produced big results for Soto, who was named a Perfect Game All-American in late July.

Strong crowd down in Fort Myers to see 2023 Charlee Soto, one of the top prep arms in the country, who is cruising at 94-97 still through his 5 no-hit innings. #PGShowdown #PGDraft @Florida_PG https://t.co/VZ6VDNjjEo pic.twitter.com/3eCrip2UNv

— Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) March 25, 2023

Soto credits his older brother for helping him handle the showcase spotlight. Carlos Soto Jr. is currently pitching for Benedictine University Mesa in Arizona and was able to help Charlee in the weight room, and to understand what scouts are looking for at these events beyond the metrics and counting stats, such as positive body language.

“Scouts pick up on all of that,” Charlee said. “Whether you think someone’s watching or not, someone’s always watching.”

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“He’s been a huge part of my development, always being there for me,” Charlee continued. “The support system in my family is very strong.”

Charlee came out of the summer even more convinced that his major-league ambitions could be a reality.

“Being at all those top events with the top players in the country, it really showed me that I have the opportunity to live out my dream,” Soto said.

In addition to gaining confidence that his skills matched up with the top talents in the country, Soto says his biggest takeaway from his summer on the showcase circuit was a lesson in leadership. Walker Jenkins — currently ranked by Law as the top high school prospect in this draft — made a big impression on Soto. The outfielder broke his hamate bone at the start of the summer but continued to make an impact on his teammates.

“He went to the hospital that same day, and the next day, he was there to cheer on our team,” Soto said. “He was always there to pick us up anytime we were down.”

When Soto returned to Reborn Christian Academy in the fall, he made it a point to emulate Jenkins’ leadership qualities. He also returned home with a new group of friends. He says more than 80 players from the summer showcases are on a group chat. He’s looking forward to catching up with some of them again on the field next season, whether that’s in pro ball or on a college diamond.

“We’re gonna take a picture before the game, but if we’re on different teams, and the game starts, we’ll be enemies until the game ends,” he said with a laugh. “It’ll definitely be cool to be able to play professional ball or even college ball with a guy that I played in high school.”

In two months, Soto will likely be faced with a difficult decision — go to UCF and continue to develop as a pitcher in a collegiate program, or turn pro and start his climb through the minor leagues. The Reborn baseball program is run by former professional ballplayers Arzeno and current Reds outfielder Henry Ramos, alongside head coach Jose Figueroa. They have lent Soto insight into the benefits and drawbacks of both routes. Soto is keeping an open mind.

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“I think the biggest factor (on whether or not he turns pro) will probably be where would I get developed better as a player and as a person,” Soto said. “Obviously, I want to get better on the field, but also want to get better off the field, just interacting with the community and all that kind of stuff.”

Soto points to Reds right-hander Hunter Greene as a player he likes to emulate. Like Soto, Greene was a hard-throwing, right-handed two-way player in high school before focusing on pitching full-time. Greene was the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft out of high school and reached the big leagues in April 2022. He recently signed a long-term extension with the Reds.

While Soto admires Greene’s on-the-field talents, it’s Greene’s off-the-field work that inspires him most.

“He was always big with helping the community and helping the people around him,” Soto said.

Soto won’t throw in game or scouting situations again before the draft, but he will attend the MLB Scouting Combine in Phoenix in June to meet with interested MLB clubs. He also has several meetings scheduled with MLB teams between now and the draft.

Soto believes he put his best foot forward this spring, not only showing scouts his pitching repertoire but also that he’s a good teammate and clubhouse presence. Now he has to wait and see where he lands.

(Top photo of Charlee Soto / Courtesy of Team USA Baseball)

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