Mets top prospect Luisangel Acuña has been red-hot at the plate during the Venezuelan Winter League.
The speedy infielder helped the Cardenales de Lara secure their doubleheader sweep on Friday as he reached base four times, stole three bases, drove in three runs, and scored three runs of his own.
Acuña is now hitting .388 with two doubles, one triple, one home run, nine RBI, nine stolen bases, and an impressive .996 OPS over his first 17 Winter League games.
Most of his time in the field has been spent at shortstop, only logging one outfield appearance thus far.
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 highly-anticipated big-league debut in place of the injured Francisco Lindor down the stretch.
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 across 14 games.
While he certainly made a positive impression, it remains to be seen what type of role he’ll play this season in a crowded Mets infield with even more young infield talent on the way.
“Any time you’re able to make an impression at the major league level it’s a good thing,” David Stearns said at the GM Meetings. “He obviously performed at a very important time of the season for us. We also understand it was a couple of weeks, and I think we have a significant amount of performance history on all of those guys to fall back.”
