Just 16 games into his career with the New York Mets, Juan Soto has yet to find his power stroke.

Soto, in his first season in Queens after signing a record, $765 million contract with the Mets this offseason, is sporting a career-low .829 OPS and went 13 games without homering until he left the yard in Monday’s 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins.

But Soto is apparently already reflecting on the lack of damage he’s done thus far in the Mets’ lineup, so much so that he admitted to a difference in how he’s being pitched without the protection of two-time American League MVP Aaron Judge batting behind him in an interview with The New York Post.

“It’s definitely different,” Soto told The New York Post. “I had the best hitter in baseball [Judge] hitting behind me. I was getting more attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that. I was pitched differently last year.”

The numbers certainly seem to back up Soto’s assertion that he’s not seeing as many hittable pitches. According to Fangraphs, Soto is seeing a career-low 44.6% of his pitches in the strike zone, compared to the 47.2% he saw last season in a career year with the New York Yankees. Soto, MLB’s active career leader in on-base percentage, has always been content to take his walks.

But the change in how pitchers have approached him this season has made the ever-patient Soto even more so. He has swung at just 32.7% of the pitches he’s seen this season, also a career low.

So, what does it all mean?

So far, it seems like pitchers are intent to let anyone but Soto in the Mets lineup beat them. And it’s resulted in a strong start to the season for slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, who, entering play Tuesday, leads the National League with a 1.136 OPS.

Plus, despite his limited power output, Soto has remained a key cog in the Mets lineup. He ranks among baseball’s top-10 hitters in walks and runs scored.

The Mets haven’t been any worse for the wear because of Soto’s power outage either, as they currently sit at 11-5, good for first place in the NL East.

Soto was always going to be under the microscope this season on the heels of signing the biggest contract in North American sports history. And while pitchers are clearly approaching him differently sans Judge, there’s reason to believe that this 16-game stretch is more a blip in the radar than a concerning trend.