March 3, 2025

New York Mets infielder Luisangel Acuna has never been a standout from a statistical standpoint, but he has continually been a solid performer at every stop. Spending the year in Triple-A in 2024, Acuña showed enough to earn a promotion to the Big Apple by the season's end, and he performed. In 40 MLB plate appearances, Acuña hit three home runs and had six extra-base hits while slashing .308/.325/.641. This followed a 131-game stint in Triple-A, where he slashed .258/.299/.355 with seven home runs. Speed is one of the more significant assets of Acuña's game, as he swiped 40 bases in 2024. This followed a 2023 season in which he stole 57. The exciting thing is Acuña was caught 14 times in Triple-A, despite having plus speed. The underlying data is solid. His average exit velocity is 87.5 mph, but the 90th percentile of 103.5 mph is right at MLB average. However, few are turning into barrels due to a 53 percent ground ball rate. The contact skills also look pretty good, as Acuña has a near 90 percent in-zone mark and an overall contact rate of 77 percent. Yes, he is hyper-aggressive and chases at a high clip. He hits too many ground balls, but there is an intriguing skill set here, and he could have a significant role with Nick Madrigal (shoulder) out for the season. Acuna is worth a late-round flier at his current NFBC ADP (375), which aligns with his RotoBaller overall ranking of 364.--Chris Clegg