Met’s top prospect Luisangel Acuna was red hot on the board during the Venezuelan Winter League.
The speedy infielder helped the Cardenales de Lara secure their doubleheader sweep on Friday when he reached base four times, stole three bases, drove in three runs and scored three runs himself.
Acuña is now hitting .388 with two doubles, one triple, one home run, nine RBI, nine stolen bases and an impressive .996 OPS through his first 17 Winter League games.
Most of his time in the field has been spent at shortstop, and so far he has logged only one outfield appearance.
The youngster had a bit of an up and down campaign in the minors, but he filled in admirably when called upon to make his long-awaited big league debut in place of the injured one. Francisco Lindor down the route.
Acuña showcased his strong defense and game-changing speed, while also hitting an impressive .308 with a triple, two doubles, three home runs and a .966 OPS in 14 games.
While he certainly made a positive impression, it remains to be seen what kind of role he will play this season in a crowded Mets infield that has even more young infield talent on the way.
“Anytime you can make an impact at the Major League level, it’s a good thing.” David Sterns said at the GM meetings. “He obviously performed at a very important time of the season for us. We also understand that it took a few weeks, and I think we have a significant amount of performance history on all those guys that we can fall back on.”
