Mets’ new top prospect is ‘better’ than me, NL MVP frontrunner says

The New York Mets signaled a sell-off of sorts with their trade of Max Scherzer this weekend, but at least it seems they got a prospect back who could be an integral part of the future.

Luisangel Acuña, the brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., has instantly become one of the Mets’ top prospects (MLB Pipeline ranks him second and 44th in MLB) across many publications.

And, if you’re asking Luisangel’s brother, who, by the way, is the favorite for National League MVP and quite possibly MLB’s best player if Shohei Ohtani weren’t in the league, those lists may be selling him short.

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“My brother is more advanced and better than I was at his age,” Ronald told The Dallas Morning News in May through an interpreter. “Maybe I was as talented, but not as advanced.”

To be fair to the newest Mets prospect, Ronald was in the majors at 20, when he won NL rookie of the year to start what has been a sterling career to date. (Reminder, he’s 25). This season, Ronald has 24 home runs, 61 RBI and 51 stolen bases, while slashing .335/.416/.578. His .994 OPS leads the NL, as do his runs (93), steals and total bases (238). He has a 160 OPS+. For his career, he has a .287/.378/.528 slash line with 144 home runs, 357 RBI and 158 steals (and 137 OPS+).

Luisangel Acuña is 21 and in Double-A. He has played shortstop, second base and center field, while putting up a .315/.377/.453 line with seven home runs and 42 steals. The Mets dealt Scherzer (and about $35 million over the next two years) to the Texas Rangers for Acuña on Saturday.

“Ultra athleticism,” Mets GM Billy Eppler Eppler said Sunday of Acuña. “Watching some of the video on him and seeing some of our scouting reports, the plays that he kind of makes in the middle of the diamond — the arm strength, the hitability. He’s working on lifting the ball a little bit more of just being able to get the ball airborne a touch more. Strong plate discipline, strong contact skills — just really excited to get a prospect of this caliber into our system.”

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The Mets rank fourth in the NL East with a 50-55 record, 18 games back of the first-place Braves.

They hope Acuña is part of the next consistent winner. His brother will surely be watching.