The New York Mets have found a spark in their youth movement, and few represent that better than Luisangel Acuña.
He’s fast, smooth with the glove, and carries a relentless energy—but one missing piece is holding him back from becoming a true everyday force.
A promising start, but power is noticeably absent
Acuña is slashing .271/.331/.327 across 38 games, showing off elite contact skills and terrific speed.
He’s swiped 10 bases, scored 16 runs, and plays with the kind of urgency that energizes an entire lineup.
But the glaring issue is his lack of power.
Despite his solid batting average, Acuña holds just a 91 wRC+, meaning he’s 9% worse than league average offensively.
It’s hard to consistently produce runs when your slugging percentage hovers below .330 and you haven’t left the yard once.
His approach is solid—but the contact lacks juice
To his credit, Acuña doesn’t strike out much—only 20.3% of the time—and walks at a serviceable 7.6% rate.
That’s a good foundation.
The issue is that when he does make contact, it doesn’t do enough damage. He ranks in just the 4th percentile in barrel rate and the 27th percentile in average exit velocity.
That’s near the bottom of the league, which makes it hard to drive the ball into the gaps or over the fence.
Blazing speed keeps him valuable
Fortunately, what Acuña lacks in pop, he makes up for in speed.
He ranks in the 97th percentile in sprint speed and is a menace on the base paths. His 10 steals have helped manufacture runs in tight games.
Even without the long ball, Acuña can stretch singles into doubles or score from first on an extra-base hit.
That element of chaos matters—and it’s why he still finds himself in the Mets’ lineup more often than not.
Defensive versatility adds to his appeal
Acuña has seen time all over the diamond this year—second base, shortstop, third base, and even the outfield.
Most of his action has come at second base, where he’s been reliable with a .991 fielding percentage, one defensive run saved, and one out above average across 244.1 innings.
That kind of flexibility gives the Mets options, especially as they shuffle pieces like Jeff McNeil and Brett Baty around the field.
Will he develop enough power to stick?
With McNeil returning and Baty hitting the cover off the ball, playing time is no guarantee.
Acuña’s value lies in his speed, defense, and high-contact profile—but if he can add even a little power to the mix, his ceiling rises significantly.
The tools are there. The opportunity is his. Now the Mets are waiting to see if their young catalyst can evolve into something more.
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