New York Mets star Juan Soto is off to a solid start in his first season in Queens, but he is not lighting it up in his first year on the historic 15-year, $765 million contract that he signed in the offseason, and that start has been labeled disappointing by David Schoenfield of ESPN.
“Soto has been OK, but, as is the case with Guerrero, we expect greatness,” Schoenfield wrote. “Soto is producing a career-high ground ball rate, which helps explain the lack of power so far. He goes through these spells — in 2023, he hit .202 in April and .219 in August — so this isn’t necessarily a ‘the pressure of the big contract’ situation. He’ll get going at some point.”
So far this season, Soto is slashing .248/.374/.396 on the season, good for a 121 wRC+. Again, those are good numbers, and it helps that the Mets are off to such a good start this season, so there is not too much pressure for him to put up gaudy numbers. Soto’s career low in wRC+ is 143 in 2019, so it is certainly expected for him to perform better over the course of the full season, especially coming off of his career-best season in 2024 with the New York Yankees.
Soto is known for his high on-base percentage combined with his ability to hit for power. That has not been the case so far this season. Soto has never posted an on-base percentage below .400, so the current mark of .374 is good, but it is down from his usual number. He also has just three home runs on the season as well, coming off a career-high 41 home runs in 2024.
It is not a surprise that Soto’s home run count is on track to drop moving to Citi Field as opposed to Yankee Stadium. But it is still expected that he hits at least 25, and possibly 30 or more. Still, the consensus is that no one is worried about how Soto will perform with the Mets.
More must-reads: