The New York Mets have gotten a major boost from their No. 12 overall prospect in shortstop Luisangel Acuña since he was called up to the big leagues roster on Sept. 14, and his torrid play could lead to them clinching a playoff berth down the stretch of the 2024 MLB season.
Mets are 3-0 when top prospect call-up Luisangel Acuña hits a home run
Acuña has dominated at the plate in only eight appearances in the Majors. The Venezuelan slugger has sent three home runs over the wall in that span. They’ve also come within his last five games played. Thanks to his commendable power, the Mets have continued their winning ways.
He’s contributed to them going undefeated in said games where he’s homered, and in New York winning 17 of their last 22 games on the backend of that stretch, as the MLB shared on X following his 388-foot second inning bomb in their huge 6-3 win over the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday:
Further, the 22-year-old’s standout play on offense has helped the Mets (86-69) keep their two-game lead over the Atlanta Braves (84-71), who are led by Acuña’s brother and reigning 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., for the second and final Wild Card spot in the NL.
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The man of the week had this to say to the media after Saturday’s matchup regarding his stellar play and what his brother Ronald says to encourage him in the midst of struggles, which has surprisingly materialized without fail, as SNY shared on X on Sept. 21:
“Every single time I do something, he always reaches out to me. The days that I don’t do something, he says, ‘Don’t worry. Tomorrow you’ll hit three,'” Acuña said through an interpreter.
Acuña is shaping up to be a vital contributor for the Mets should they make the playoffs
With only seven games remaining in the 2024 regular season, the Mets must keep the Braves at bay in order to squeeze into the playoffs. They are also still mathematically in the equation to jump up to as high as the No. 3 seed in the league, which would require them to leapfrog the No. 5-seeded Arizona Diamondbacks (87-68), No. 4-seeded Milwaukee Brewers (88-67) and No. 3-seeded San Diego Padres (89-66), who own one, two and three-game leads over them respectively in the standings.
The younger Acuña’s bat has been great for the Mets and has directly contributed to wins. He’s also filled in admirably for starting shortstop and NL MVP candidate Francisco Lindor in six games in the infield, as the latter has battled a back injury that has kept him out since Sept. 15. If his play continues, Acuña could find himself entrenched in the batting order even when Lindor returns, giving the Mets another reliable hitter to power their bid for a dark horse World Series run.
