Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Good things come to those who wait.

Superstars come with high expectations. That was the case for Francisco Lindor after he was acquired by the New York Mets in a blockbuster trade this past offseason, before being signed to a blockbuster $341 million contract extension.

Lindor was made the first marquee addition of the Steve Cohen era because he boasts the talent and the tools to put this franchise on his back and carry them towards the promised land – or, that’s the hope anyway.

With a famous killer smile that just screams “superstar”, Lindor is one of the best players in baseball for a reason and there is no doubt that he’s the best shortstop in the National League.

As a result, big things are expected of the 27-year-old both in the field and at the plate. While he has always delivered with his elite defensive play in a Mets uniform, he endured a sluggish start inside the box. Some even wondered whether his offensive struggles were an extension of his down year in 2020.

However, class is permanent and form is only temporary. As a result, it was only a matter of time until Lindor started raking and displaying some of the hallmarks and qualities that make him one of baseball’s most exciting players to watch.

We’ve started to see signs of Lindor breaking out from his slump for a few weeks now, with flashes of brilliance providing tantalizing signs of what is to come once the shortstop is at the true peak of his powers.

And, now seemingly settled in as a fully-fledged member of the Amazin’ Mets and fully entrenched in his new surroundings, Lindor is looking more comfortable with the bat in his hand and it is leading to only good things for his new team.

After all, we tend to forget that athletes are also, like us, mere mortals and deal with the everyday struggles we do: getting used to a new job, a new home, and a new way of living, so there was every chance Lindor just needed some time to get settled.

Well, time is a great healer for most things and the four-time All-Star now looks truly at home, putting together his best outing in a Mets uniform during a 5-1 victory on Saturday over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a double-header.

It was the kind of statement game we’ve been longing to see from him, a game in which he stepped forward and decided to put the team on his back and do whatever it took to get the job done.

He took it upon himself to end the Mets’ recent scoring drought by hitting two homers while driving in all five of his team’s runs.

His two-run homer in the first inning set New York on its way while breaking Lindor out of a 1-for-17 slump. His second home run of the day (as you can see above) was an absolute moonshot that travelled 414 feet.

It was a crucial moment for a team that had come up with just four hits over its previous 18 innings, while it was Lindor’s first two-homer game as a Met and also just the second time in 62 games that he had three hits in a single game.

With his slugging now at a more respectable .364, Lindor is starting to trust the process more and, as a result, he’s starting to heat up and play at the level we’ve all become accustomed to.

Now as he boasts a 95 wRC+ on the season with eight home runs, the fact that Lindor is also starting to really drive the ball to the deepest part of the park is a really encouraging factor, even if the man himself doesn’t see himself as a power hitter.

“Power hitting to me is somebody that can hit consistently 40, 45-plus every single year,” Lindor said.

“I can’t really do that.”

“I would love to do it. I probably can hit 40 one year, but not consistently. I think a hitter that goes 25-35 a year, every year, is a gap-to-gap hitter – so I consider myself a gap-to-gap hitter.”

Whatever Lindor is as a hitter, he’s now starting to hit more consistently and is doing plenty of damage when it matters most, and long may that continue. Granted, there is still room for improvement, but we’re starting to see the best of Lindor and the ultra-talented superstar appears to be on the cusp of returning to the elite player we all know he is.