The narrative around Juan Soto’s start to the 2025 season hasn’t been all too sunny. A lot of baseball fans — well, mostly New York Yankees fans — have been poking fun at the New York Mets for his “subpar” season so far. Which is fair enough: After signing his massive contract to play in Queens for the next 15 years, the expectations for Soto have risen.
But the outfielder might be falling victim to his own success, and while living up to $765 million is a tall task for anyone, people dancing on Soto’s grave might be eating their words before too long.
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Soto’s early “slump” shouldn’t worry anyone
Across his first 12 games, the 26-year-old superstar is hitting .279 with a .404 on-base percentage and one home run. For Soto, that’s a slow start; for anyone else, fans would be more than pleased with that production. It speaks volumes to the player Soto is, that so many would view those numbers as a disappointment.
Soto has shown signs of a breakout waiting to happen. He’s reached base in 11 of his first 12 games. He’s also scored ten times over that span, and underlying metrics say he’s hitting the ball as hard as just about anyone right now.
The best part for the Mets is they’re 8-4, with Soto not being his vintage self. Once their new superstar gets going, New York could take off. The team’s pitching has looked fantastic, pitching to a 2.10 team ERA which leads MLB. On top of that, Francisco Lindor is on an eight-game hit streak, and Pete Alonso is top-five in RBI to start the year.
Soto has the track record to give fans confidence that he’ll produce at an elite level. He holds a career .285 batting average with a .952 OPS and has finished top-10 in MVP voting in five different seasons.
Of course, through the first few weeks of the year, Mets fans would love to see their new superstar perform at a high level to stick it to the haters. However, his “slump” isn’t bad by any stretch. Once Soto starts to click, the Mets offense should take off and live up to the hype.
