Nationals' Soto surpasses Griffey in single-season HRs by teenager

Childish Bambino has leapfrogged Junior, but he still has work to do.

During the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, 19-year-old Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto hit his 17th home run, surpassing Ken Griffey Jr. for fourth place all-time in single-season home runs by a teenager.

Soto hit a go-ahead blast in the 10th inning to notch his 18th homer of the season and tie Mel Ott for third place.

Even further, Tuesday's contest was the third time Soto recorded a multi-homer game this season, setting a record among teenagers.

With 17 games remaining in the season, Soto has a legitimate shot to surpass Ott, who hit 18 homers over 124 games with the San Francisco Giants (then New York) back in 1928. It wasn't his rookie campaign, though, as the Hall of Famer made his MLB debut at 17 years old.

Soto will also have a chance to best his teammate, Bryce Harper, who earned National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2012 by hitting 22 home runs over 139 games.

Remarkably, if Soto pulls it off - or even topples Tony Conigliaro, who has reigned as the top teenage slugger for over a half-century - he may do it with fewer games played.

Ott and Harper debuted in April of their seasons, and appeared in 124 and 139 games, respectively. Conigliaro, who also played through April, was held to 111 games, missing all of August. However, Soto didn't earn a promotion until May 20, and can appear in a maximum of 116 contests - five more than Conigliaro had in 1964.