The New York Yankees' blockbuster offseason acquisition of Juan Soto is going according to plan. Brought in to elevate the Yankees' lineup and give them another top-10 hitter alongside Aaron Judge, Soto has raked to begin his life in pinstripes. In fact, on Wednesday night, following the Yankees' 9-4 victory over the Houston Astros, Soto made a bit of history as he elicited memories of a franchise legend who once lifted the team to its historic peak.

Through 38 games for the Yankees, Soto has tallied 49 hits, nine of which went out the yard, 33 runs batted in, 26 walks, four stolen bases, while New York has won 25 of those contests to remain within striking distance of the Baltimore Orioles for the AL East lead. And in so doing, Soto reached numbers that only Babe Ruth has through 38 games since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, per OptaSTATS on Twitter (X).

Juan Soto's caliber has been proven time and time again, which is why New York did not hesitate to trade for him even though he only had a year left on his deal. But no one could have realistically expected him to tally numbers that only The Great Bambino has over the past 100 or so years.

The scary part about all of this is that the Yankees can conceivably improve from here, as they have a few crucial players currently on the injured list. They can now take their time in recovering from their injuries, especially with Soto raking the way he has to this point of the season.

Juan Soto will be worth every penny of his next contract

When the Yankees acquired Juan Soto, he was expected to form a one-two punch with Aaron Judge in the heart of the team's batting order. Soto and Judge were expected to be peers, putting up numbers on a nightly basis reminiscent of Shaq and Kobe. Judge, however, has gotten off to a bit of a slow start to the 2024 season. The Yankees' center fielder may have eight home runs on the season, but his numbers across the board (OBP) have been down.

His isolated power percentage, walk rate, and other peripherals are down as well. It is early in the season, and Judge can easily catch fire like he did during the 2022 season. But to start off the year, it has been Soto who has emerged as the Yankees' best player. He is tearing the cover off the baseball, as he's on pace to put up the best non-COVID-shortened season of his career, and with 2.6 WAR, he has ranked tied for third in the entire MLB, only behind Mookie Betts and Bobby Witt Jr.

It's simply amazing to think that Soto is just in the seventh year of his career, and none of his professional seasons have been poor in anyway. And to think that he's only 25 years old? The contract he'll be seeking will be enormous.

But the Yankees knew that bringing Soto in meant that they'll have to be the team that splashes the cash to pay him for the next decade or so, as they won't get as much bang for their buck if they let him walk after just one season. And so far, the Yankees should have no second thoughts as to whether Soto would be worth it or not, as he has currently been the most electric player in the entire state of New York to this point of the year.

Yankees extend Astros' misery

The Yankees could not have asked for a better start to their series against the floundering Astros, a team that may be witnessing an end to an era of contention. On Tuesday, they walloped the Astros to the tune of a 10-3 victory, with Juan Soto playing a starring role alongside Alex Verdugo. Soto went 3-4, setting up the table for Verdugo who drove in four runs in the blowout win.

And then on Wednesday, the Yankees' bats continued to pack a punch. They overwhelmed Spencer Arighetti, chasing him after five innings after he allowed five runs, and the team in pinstripes took another dominant win, this time with a 9-4 score line. Soto had an even better game in the second of their three-game set, as he went 3-5 with a home run to drive in five of his team's runs.

In fact, it wasn't just Juan Soto who showed up, as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton went yard as well, with the three being responsible for bringing home all of their runs on the night. With room for positive regression from some of the Yankees' hitters, as well as a promising start to Anthony Volpe's sophomore year, they will be right there with the Orioles come season's end as the main contenders for the AL East crown.