The right fielder was 5-for-10 in his previous three games against the St. Louis Cardinals, including a two-run double that gave the Mets a 5-3 lead in Sunday’s win. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pointed to that hit as a “good sign” that Soto was about to break out.

For Juan Soto’s standards, the start to his season hasn't gone as planned. The New York Mets gave him the richest deal in sports history, and the hope was for him to be one of the best players in Major League Baseball, just like he's been for the past few seasons.

The bottom line: Even while Mets Twitter wrings its hands, Soto is producing at a rate that’s 37% better than league average. That kind of “struggle” would be a career year for most big leaguers. As Mintz says, “That's why Juan Soto is different. … The struggle, the strife, the worry is about a guy who is 37% better than the average hitter.”