Juan Soto homered in back-to-back at-bats in Thursday's win over the Phillies, as the Mets superstar continues to slug his way past a rough early-June slump and to the top of the offensive leaderboards in the National League.
It may be easy to overlook given the Mets' disappointing season and the ho-hum nature of just how good Soto is, but the right fielder hit the pillow Thursday night leading the National League in OPS, while posting a robust 172 wRC+, meaning he is 72 percent better than league average in that weighted stat, which many consider to be an all-encompassing barometer on a player's production and value. In that wRC+ department, Soto is second in all of baseball, just above Ben Rice of the Yankees and trailing only Astros lefty masher Yordan Alvarez.
Over the past month, even when incorporating the tail end of his tough stretch to start the month, Soto is batting .316 with nine home runs and a 1.046 OPS. Even after missing time with a calf injury, he is batting an even .300 on the season with 17 home runs, 2.3 WAR, and a league-best .582 slugging percentage.
New York is currently fighting its way out of the cellar after a 12-game losing streak tanked their season before it could begin, but if the Mets were to go on a 2024-type run, it would be on the shoulders of Soto, who is proving his worth by the day, even with his $765 million price tag.
After leading the league in stolen bases and walks last season, Soto is now on another All-Star pace in 2026, leads the lead in home runs since May 14, an is emerging as a potential MVP finalist (even if the award seems destined to be Shohei Ohtani's if he stays healthy). It may be easy to glance over, but it shouldn't: Soto is playing like the star that he is, and even if it seems like business as usual, that should not mean it gets taken for granted.
The Mets rough season and Soto's consistency shouldn't mean it gets taken for granted.
The Mets rough season and Soto's consistency shouldn't mean it gets taken for granted.
