San Diego Padres fans cautiously optimistic about Juan Soto’s five-game hitting streak: "I’m tired of my kid calling him Juan Sucko"

San Diego Padres left fielder Juan Soto has been showing signs of life as of late.

The one-time superstar has been largely pedestrian since being traded by the Washington Nationals to San Diego in a blockbuster deal on August 2, 2022. He is currently on a five-game hitting streak, lifting his batting average from .178 to .222.

Juan Soto has hit just .228 since being traded to the San Diego Padres. However, everyone keeps waiting for him to "bust out" and become the player he was before the trade.

Soto did strikeout to end the game in the bottom of the tenth to cap Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. However, he went 2-for-5 and drove in San Diego's only run of the game by bringing home third baseman Manny Machado on an RBI double in the bottom of the third inning.

It is not yet the longest-hitting streak Soto has had since donning a San Diego Padres uniform. Last year, shortly after the trade, he hit in six consecutive games from Aug. 8 through Aug. 14. The final three games of that run came against his former team when the Padres played at the Nationals.

Juan Soto was also in the midst of a five-game hit streak when he joined San Diego, but only four of those games were with the San Diego Padres. He began that run by getting a hit in his final at-bat with Washington in a game against the New York Mets on Aug. 1, 2022.

Over the current five-game streak, Juan Soto has gone 8-for-16 with a home run, three doubles, three RBIs and six walks. He has walked an MLB-leading 28 times so far this season.

Of course, no matter what Soto does, he'll still have his critics among the Padres fan base. Such is the life of a player looking to regain his superstar status.

It doesn't help that he's making $23 million dollars this season, and he's still performing well under his career WAR of 23.7. Padres fans have seen glimpses of superstar Soto before, only to see it fade away. Time will tell if this current streak will be longer-lasting.

San Diego Padres need Nationals-style Juan Soto

Juan Soto #22 slides safely into homeplate

Soto, still just 24 years old despite being in his sixth MLB season, is still hitting .283 with 130 homers and 387 RBIs for his career entering Tuesday's game despite his post-2021 lull.

The two-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger, and 2020 National League batting champion has the skills to succeed. The San Diego Padres will need to see them soon in their quest to win the organization's first-ever World Series title this season.