To begin what is sure to be a tough and intense season, the New York Mets have thrown top first base prospect Pete Alonso straight into the fire, slotting him in the two-hole on Opening Day for his Major League debut against Max Scherzer, and putting him in that spot again yesterday against Stephen Strasburg.

The Mets have shown an enormous amount of confidence in the 24-year-old slugger, putting immense and potentially unfair expectations on his performance. They completely disregarded the issue of losing a year of service team to make sure that he was in the Opening Day lineup, and put him right in the two-hole against two of the game’s best pitchers to begin his career. Alonso responded well to the task of facing Scherzer in his debut, saying before the game, “Let’s do it. This is it, right? Why not. Let’s go.”

Alonso looked a little over matched against Scherzer, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against him, but laid off some nasty pitches and put together a couple quality at-bats. In his fourth at-bat, the Nationals brought in right-hander Justin Miller to face Alonso, and he promptly gave up Alonso’s first hit, a bloop into straightaway center field.

Alonso had to face another tough right-hander yesterday in Strasburg, but he made the most out of the challenge and didn’t let himself get intimidated. After lining a single in his first at-bat, he smashed a two-out, run-scoring double in his second at-bat, a ball that soared over center fielder Victor Robles‘s head and one-hopped against the wall. It was the first in-game glimpse of Alonso’s monstrous 80-grade raw power, and the first extra-base hit of his career. According to Stacast, the ball was hit with an exit velocity of 106.8 mph.

He struck out in his final at-bat against Strasburg, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and a single against him, but utilized his strong plate discipline skills to draw a walk against left-hander Tony Sipp in the seventh inning.

“I made my own scouting report,” Alonso said of his performance against Strasburg, “I made a plan going into today, I looked back on my notes, executed my plan and stayed within myself.”

In the eighth, he hit yet another two-out, run-scoring double to give the Mets an 8-4 cushion. This ball was reportedly hit even harder, at a blistering 113.8 mph, and was smacked on a line to the opposite field. According to David Adler of MLB.com, that is the tenth hardest hit ball by a Met in the four-plus seasons that Statcast has been tracking balls. Pete just got here, and he’s already showing how he can smash baseballs as hard as anyone in the game.

The Mets’ bold strategy of slotting Alonso in the two-hole in the first two games has paid off. Alonso is showing good strike zone judgement as well as an ability to hit the ball hard to all areas of the field. He’s not just a pull-happy strikeout machine like some sluggers in today’s game – he’s able to get the bat on the ball and collect a lot of hits while still utilizing his natural power to produce high exit velocities at the same time. Alonso has special potential to be a complete, well-rounded hitter, and he has already exemplified these qualities in his first two Major League games.

His hard work in the field also seems to be slowly paying off, as he has looked respectable at first base thus far. It remains to be seen how well he will sustain this, but the initial results are encouraging. It’s also helpful that Alonso is one of the hardest working players in the game.

There’s a lot to be excited for with Alonso, and his performance yesterday is hopefully just a small glimpse of what’s to come. He appears to be excited and confident in himself, which is always a great sign, and it will be fun to track his progress as he gets into the grind of being an everyday Major League Baseball player.