New York Mets' Top Prospect on Fire During Winter League

After playing in 14 games with the Mets in 2024, Luisangel Acuña is lighting it up during Winter League.

Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Luisangel Acuna (2) runs form first base to third base in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game five of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Late in the 2024 season, the New York Mets called up one of their most exciting prospects.

With star shortstop Francisco Lindor temporarily sidelined, infielder Luisangel Acuña was called up in September and left a great first impression; in just 40 at-bats, he slashed .308/.325/.641 with three home runs. The youngster recorded a hit in seven of his 11 games (not counting the other three games without any plate appearances), and had multiple hits in four of them.

To the delight of Mets fans, Acuña has continued his impressive play during the Venezuelan Winter League.

The 22-year-old led Cardenales de Lara to a doubleheader sweep on Friday by knocking in three runs, scoring three, and stealing three bases, all while reaching base four times. He's batting .388 in 17 games with four extra-base hits, nine stolen bases, and a gaudy .996 OPS.

Defensively, Acuña has played all but one Winter League game at shortstop. He's committed three errors in 115 chances at shortstop for a .951 fielding percentage; in his brief stint in the majors, Acuña committed only one error in 45 chances over 95.2 innings at shortstop and second base.

Mets' president of baseball operations David Stearns was impressed with Acuña after his excellent performance down the stretch, but it remains to be seen what the 22-year-old can do throughout a full MLB season. Prior to his call-up, Acuña only hit .258/.299/.355 in 131 games with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets; that slash line is far below his .280/.351/.401 cumulative slash line across 505 minor league games.

Nonetheless, Acuña's strong audition has given the Mets a good problem to have. Considering the organization's significant amount of young talent across the infield while having a franchise shortstop in Lindor (who finished runner-up in NL MVP voting), they need to decide what type of role the 22-year-old will play in the future.