After the Mets acquired Luisangel Acuña from the Rangers in the trade that sent Max Scherzer to Texas, he became the No. 1 prospect in the organization.
Here's a deep dive on the 21-year-old, who could make his big-league debut next season...
Background
In 2016 at 14 years old, Luisangel Acuña, Ronald Acuña's younger brother, worked out in his LaSabana, Venezuela, hometown for then-Braves scout Rolando Petit, who had signed Ronald as well as Ozzie Albies. After the workout, the Braves were prepared to sign Luisangel once he turned 16 years old.
However, in December 2017, the fallout from the Braves' illegal dealing with international players under former general manager John Coppolella led to the firing of scouts -- including Petit -- as well as stripping of 13 international prospects and bonus money. This meant that the Braves could no longer afford to sign Luisangel.
He eventually signed with the Rangers as an international free agent on July 2, 2018, for $425,000. Neither Acuña brother was considered to be an elite prospect at the time of their signing, as Ronald signed for about a quarter ($100,000) of what Luisangel did, while you have multiple players inking seven-figure deals every signing period.
That did not stop Acuña from quickly establishing himself as a high-end prospect. At 19 years old in 2021, he spent his first full pro season at Low-A Down East, where he posted a .749 OPS in 111 games with his still-career-best 12 home runs and 44 stolen bases.
In 2022, he played 91 games between High-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco, where he took well to the High-A level, hitting .300 with a .900 OPS in 54 games. However, he proceeded to struggle upon his first look at Double-A, posting a .651 OPS in 37 games.
He still showed enough to make his mainstream top-100-prospect-list debut, as MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 71 in baseball entering the 2023 season. In 84 games with Double-A Frisco, he slashed .315/.377/.453 (.830 OPS) with 25 doubles, seven home runs, and a whopping 42 stolen bases -- although there was some thought there was regression coming as those numbers were supported by a .381 BABIP.
Then on July 29, the Rangers traded Acuña to the Mets for Scherzer and around $35 million in cash. He immediately joined Double-A Binghamton, where he struggled offensively -- posting a .621 OPS in just 34 games with the Mets organization.