Get To Know Mets’ Newly Acquired Prospects Luisangel Acuña & Drew Gilbert

At last week’s trade deadline, the Mets front office traded off a pair of Cy Young award winners in Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander with the hope that Acuña and Gilbert, along with Ryan Clifford at High-A Brooklyn, will provide the foundation toward success over the next decade.

The Mets are hoping that the glimpse they got of the major-league product on Tuesday night at TD Bank Ballpark will serve as a preview for the next two or three seasons.

By moving out of the leadoff position with such lightning speed, Luisangel Acua was establishing the pace. The 21-year-old infielder was stealing three bases and scored two runs while moving quickly between bases. The centrepiece of Double-A Binghamton’s lineup, 23-year-old Drew Gilbert, was patrolling centre field and driving in a pair of runs.

Luis angel Acuna

By moving out of the leadoff position with such lightning speed, Luisangel Acuna was establishing the pace. The 21-year-old infielder was stealing three bases and scored two runs while moving quickly between bases. The centrepiece of Double-A Binghamton’s lineup, 23-year-old Drew Gilbert, was patrolling centre field and driving in a pair of runs.

The Mets front management traded away two Cy Young Award winners, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, at the trade deadline last week in the hopes that Acuna, Gilbert, and Ryan Clifford in High-A Brooklyn can supply a replacement.

Acuna is the younger brother of Ronald Acuna Jr., a famous pitcher for the Braves, with whom Luisangel said to chat frequently and who he frequently engages in combat in “Call of Duty” games.

They have multiple cousins who have played in the major leagues, and their father, Ronald Acua Sr., was once a Mets prospect.

The smooth-fielding shortstop, who is just 21 years old, claimed he is also at ease at second base, where he anticipates playing due to Francisco Lindor’s presence in Queens.

Acuna is dressed in bright yellow elbow, shin, and batting gloves, just like his brother, Ronald Acuna Jr., who is the current favourite to win the National League MVP award after hitting 26 home runs and stealing 53 bases.

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“I look up to my brother,” Acuña said through translator Alan Suriel. “I obviously learned a lot from him, him being a superstar in the game. Because he has always been by my side, I consider him to be a part of my career.

Acuna has slashed in 91 games at Double-A so far this year.308/.374/.440, seven home runs, 52 RBI, and 73 runs are the results. Acuna’s teammate Dominic Hamel claimed that because to his incredible bat speed, Acuna appears to be swinging a toothpick.

He is close with his brother and plans to become even more so with a different Venezuelan buddy. While growing up, Luisangel was unaware of Francisco Alvarez, but the two crossed paths during tryouts and have remained in touch.

After the deal, the Mets’ catcher of the present and the future sent Acua a message saying, “We’ll see each other soon.”

Even though the Mets are in the midst of a rebuild, it seems unlikely that Acua, a fourth-year minor leaguer, will make it to Queens this year, but he may have other intentions.

“I hope to be there pretty soon,” said Acua, who can flip around as a middle infielder and maybe envision his Mets’ future in centre field.

Drew Gilbert

Blade Tidwell, a right-handed pitcher who was Gilbert’s teammate at Tennessee and is currently playing for Binghamton, mirrored Billy Eppler’s explanation of Gilbert’s abilities.

The young man, 23, “plays with his hair on fire.”

“I’ve always played hard and I always will,” Gilbert said. “It’s something that I’ve kind of had to learn to manage when it comes to making that transition from college to pro ball and playing every day. Just trying to stay on the field every single day, but I want to win.”

The 22-year-old’s defensive prowess in the first four games has already pleased Brignac.

Gilbert is a gamer who, due to his eagerness to give up his body, has the makings of a future fan favourite.

That backfired the previous year when he dislocated his right elbow after colliding with an outfield wall in his first season after leaving college.

Michael first expressed his admiration for Gilbert’s defensive prowess in the centre field. He has already created highlight-reel plays by diving forward toward the diamond and returning to the wall.

Gilbert also brings a strong arm to the outfield because of his past as a pitcher (he pitched briefly for the Volunteers during his freshman and sophomore seasons).

“When it comes to improvement, everything honestly, as corny of an answer as that sounds, it’s true,” Gilbert said. “There’s always ways you can get better: defensively, baserunning, hitting. Honestly, everything’s always a work in progress, which is exciting for sure.”

He participated in 81 games between High-A and Double-A with the Astros this year, putting up a.822 OPS with 12 home runs and 10 steals before the trade that may have forced Brandon Nimmo into a corner and made Gilbert the Mets’ potential future centre fielder.

Gilbert claimed that he is still figuring out how to strike a balance between playing hard and playing shrewdly.

Gilbert slashed in 60 games for Double-A Corpus Christi.36 runs, 20 RBI, six home runs, and a slash line of 243/.342/.371. Gilbert is playing in his first complete season as a professional after dislocating his elbow in a late-season collision with a wall while playing for Single-A Fayetteville.

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