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.”

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.

Mets' outfielder Juan Soto believes that he knows why he is off to a relatively slow start at the plate in his first season in Flushing.