The scary thing about the New York Mets in 2025 is that they are 15-7, in first place in the NL East, and Juan Soto has yet to get hot.
The other thing is that this team knows its good and its starting to show.
The key is you have guys like Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo leading the charge with big at bats early on in the season. A huge contrast from a year ago, when all three struggled out of the gate.
You also have guys like Mark Vientos starting to get going, Luisangel Acuna showing how good he is now and can be as he continues to mature in the game, and supporting guys like Tyrone Taylor and Luis Torrens getting on base and making things happen. There is even Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil getting ready to return to add to the lineup.
What people are not seeing, is that the mere presence of Juan Soto on this Mets team, is propelling others to be better. What people are looking at is Soto struggling to get going, but what they don’t see is the immediate impact he has made to this lineup.
There is enough evidence to say that without Soto in 2025, this Mets team would still be good, but what Soto brings to the game and his teammates is a promise that when he is rolling, there is no stopping him or the team. And that has yet to happen, which would excite any die-hard Mets fan.
After 22 games, Pete Alonso leads the Mets with a .346 batting average (27 for 78), nine doubles, six home runs and 24 RBIs. Lindor is right behind the Polar Bear with a .271 batting average (23 for 84) and even though his numbers are not near Alonso’s, he has come up with some big home runs already in the early part of the season.
The Soto affect is that everyone sees the impact of such a star their lineup and they want to play at their very best to compliment his bat. And that is what we are witnessing early on in the season, the Mets have come out the gate winning ball games and doing it with pitching, speed and great timely at bats.
That’s a SWEEP! ???? #MetsWin #LGM pic.twitter.com/sWaXy23exu
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 20, 2025
But the key is that, even though they are winning ball games, the offense has not really gotten going yet, and the chemistry has not been formed yet, but it will.
During spring training, Soto was hot and showed signs of his greatness, but after the season started, things changed and he began to struggle. Could it be that his large contract and the need to be great weighed on his mind and the impact of his yet to achieve first Citi Field home run has not allowed him to really get going.
Then came the comment that was made by Soto to Mike Puma of the New York Post, about him not getting good pitches to hit because Aaron Judge was not behind him. As bad as that sounded, it did nothing to detour the Mets current surge and actually it may have lit a hotter fire under Alonso, not to show up his teammate, but to prove to others that the Mets could be better then the Soto Yankees of 2024.
The signs are there for the greatness to happen in Queens, and the signs are also there that Soto is starting to feel it and have better swings. In the month of April, Soto is 16 for 65 (.246), while hitting safely in 12 of 18 games. But over his last three games, where it looked to all come together, the Dominican Republic native is 5 for 10 (.500), with two runs scored, a double and five RBIs. The home runs have not come yet, but they will and when they do, the impact will be felt across the entire league.
The Mets are good so far, the pitching has been great, and the offense is still waiting for one last piece to get going, but when it does, the 2025 season will not be about Juan Soto, but what he does for the entire team, Make Them Better!
