Do recent stats show Mets' Juan Soto has gotten past springtime swoon?

The once-hot New York Mets (46-32) lost their hold of first place in the National League East standings to the Philadelphia Phillies (47-31) after the Mets lost eight of their last nine games. 

Some Mets fans understandably are concerned about an offense that left much to be desired with its recent performances against the Phillies and Atlanta Braves. That said, Danny Abriano of SNY shared on Monday why there are reasons to believe that Mets outfielder Juan Soto has fully put his previous at-the-plate struggles behind him in the early days of the summer. 

"As the Mets' offense overall has been wildly inconsistent during their season-worst 1-8 stretch, Soto has been reaching base nearly half the time," Abriano wrote. "In 97 plate appearances over his last 22 games dating back to May 30, Soto is slashing .338/.495/.716 with eight homers, four doubles, 16 RBI, 20 runs scored and 22 walks. For the season, Soto's triple slash is up to .255/.392/.480. And his 151 OPS+ is nearing his career average, which is 159."

Additionally, Soto was responsible for a 1.211 OPS from May 30 through New York's 7-1 loss in Philadelphia on Sunday night. 

Soto largely disappointed with his play over the first two months of his Mets tenure after he signed a 15-year, $765M contract to join the organization this past offseason. However, ESPN stats show that he began Monday tied for second on the team with 16 home runs and tied for third with 41 RBI on the campaign. 

According to the Baseball Savant website, Soto ended Sunday ranked second in all of MLB with a .456 expected weighted on-base average for the season. New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge entered Monday leading the league with a .457 xwOBA. 

The Mets may need Soto to help carry them out of their current funk. Injury issues are testing the club's pitching depth, and The Athletic's Will Sammon noted that Mets third basemen this month were last in the league in OPS (.408), on-base percentage (.169) and batting average (.113) as of Monday morning. Per Baseball Reference, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor slashed .228/.290/.404 with a .694 OPS over his last 15 games after it was determined he could play with the broken pinky toe he suffered on June 4. 

On Monday evening, the Mets open a four-game home series versus a 35-41 Braves side that earned a three-game sweep over the Amazins last week. Perhaps a locked-in Soto will be able to guide the Mets to a needed series win against a division rival.