Mets prospect Luisangel Acuña ‘continues to develop’ with Triple-A Syracuse, Carlos Mendoza explains

What does Carlos Mendoza hear of Luisangel Acuña‘s progress this season with Triple-A Syracuse?

The 22-year-old middle infielder and outfielder — who is the Mets’ No. 6 prospect in the midseason ranking of the top 30 prospects by SNY’s Joe DeMayo — “continues to play well,” Mendoza said.

“He continues to develop,” Mendoza said of Acuña, who entered Sunday slashing .263/.316/.366 with five home runs and 31 RBI in 80 games this season. “The way he’s impacting the baseball, and he’s moving around the field defensively — he’s playing second base, he’s playing shortstop, he’s playing center field. So having that type of versatility, somebody that can play up the middle, is important. And the way he’s controlling the strike zone … he wants to be in the lineup. He plays with joy. Everything we’re getting right now from Triple-A staff is that everything’s really good with him.”

After the Mets acquired Acuña in last July’s Max Scherzer trade with the Texas Rangers, Acuña slashed .243/.317/.304 with two home runs and 12 RBI over 37 games with Double-A Binghamton.

Before the deal, in 84 games with the Rangers’ Double-A Frisco RoughRiders, Acuña slashed .315/.377/.453 while adding seven homers and 51 RBI.

What do the Mets want to see from Acuña, who is a potential candidate for a promotion?

To Mendoza, the room for improvement is simple.

“Controlling the strike zone, swinging at strikes,” Mendoza said. “That’s basically the biggest thing for him, making sure that he makes good swing decisions and he doesn’t chase as much. And he’s making progress there.”