Juan Soto's first home run with the New York Mets sets the stage for so much more

It took only two games for Juan Soto to crank his first home run in a New York Mets jersey. With a blast that bounced off the upper-deck in right field, the Soto era in Queens has officially begun.

Statcast had this one with a 107.3 mph exit velocity and 27-degree launch angle, traveling an estimated 390 feet to dead right field. A future Hall of Famer, Soto demonstrated his elite bat-to-ball skills by barreling a high cutter up and out of the zone, clocked at 95.9 mph by Houston Astros hurler Hunter Brown.

It's the first of many, as the tandem of Francisco Lindor and Soto are one of the most lethal 1-2 punches at the top of the batting order in all Major League Baseball. Soto will be the most critical to the Mets' success this season, assuming he has one of his routine MVP-caliber seasons. A season ago, he launched a career-high 41 home runs and 109 RBIs.

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Juan Soto 2025 outlook

After signing the most lucrative contract in baseball history, Soto feels like nearly a lock to be an All-Star, even just two games into the season. He's already showcased his elite ability to get on base or, in this case, drive the ball over the fence. Given his protection in the lineup, sandwiched between Lindor and Pete Alonso, he will be a threat to produce in every at-bat.

Soto's approach at the plate is must-see TV for any baseball fan. With the news in Los Angeles that Shohei Ohtani being somewhat limited this year in terms of at-bats and stolen base attempts, Soto is my prediction for National League MVP this season. He's landed in the top 3 and top 2 before and the top-10 five times. At some point, he will bring home the award and see how locked in he is already; it may be in 2025.