The New York Mets’ shift into sellers this season really took shape when they dealt starting pitcher Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers. That deal, along with roughly $35 million from owner Steve Cohen, netted the Mets their new top prospect in the form of infielder LuisAngel Acuna. Acuna, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves’ superstar Ronald Acuna, adds a ton of potential to the organization and is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
Texas originally signed the younger Acuna for a $425,000 signing bonus in 2018, who got over four times as much money to sign as Ronald did with the Braves. Acuna may not have the superstar potential of his older brother but he has drawn frequent comparisons to Ozzie Albies thanks to his dynamic combination of power and speed. This clearly drew the attention of the Mets, who made him their target in trade talks surrounding Scherzer with Texas and Cohen’s ability to pay down Scherzer’s salary helped the organization land Acuna.
This season saw Acuna force his way into Top-100 prospect lists with an outstanding showing at AA Frisco, where he hit .315 with seven home runs, 51 RBIs, an .830 OPS and 42 stolen bases in 84 games. The seven home runs seems a bit low in the power department but Acuna also stroked 25 doubles and two triples with Frisco, which could end up leading to 20+ home run power at the big league level as he continues to develop. The trade also saw Acuna become the Mets’ top prospect according to MLB.com, supplanting fellow new acquisition Drew Gilbert and holdovers Kevin Parada, Jett Williams and Ronny Mauricio.
The move to AA Binghamton has seen a bit of an adjustment period for Acuna, who is hitting just .209 in his first 17 games with the Rumble Ponies, but he has racked up another eight stolen bases to give him 50 total on the season. The Mets can afford to be patient with Acuna, who is a natural shortstop that will need to move off the position in order to find a home in the big league lineup, and have let him remain at short for now to ease his transition to a new organization.
The long-term play for Acuna could be a shift to second base, where his speed would play very nicely, or center field if the Mets want to move Brandon Nimmo to a corner outfield in the future. Expect Acuna to finish this year with Binghamton and earn an invitation to big-league camp next spring so the major league coaching staff can get a look at his potential up close. The likeliest scenario is for Acuna to begin 2024 with AAA Syracuse, where he would be just one step away from the majors, and his arrival could add a jolt to the team by mid-season.
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