When the White Sox announced the deal that sent Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets for IF/OF Luisangel Acuna and RHP Truman Pauley, I’ll admit I didn’t feel great about the deal. Maybe I was drinking the Luis Robert kool-aid and thinking this would finally be the year he’s fully healthy and puts everything together, or maybe I saw Luisangel Acuna’s 63 OPS+ in 2025 and it didn’t exactly fill me with excitement. Regardless, I didn’t have much hope that the deal was anything more than a salary dump. With more than two weeks of Cactus League action in the books, however, Acuna has impressed me, and he’s showing early signs that would make me feel much better about the trade.
Entering Tuesday’s game against the Athletics, Luisangel Acuna held a .412 average and a 1.121 OPS in the Cactus League, with a home run and two stolen bases. Acuna has played center field, second base, and shortstop early in camp and has driven the ball all over the field. According to TJStats, Acuna’s 97.3 mph average exit velocity ranks in the 97th percentile in all of baseball, and his 71.4% hard hit percentage is also in the 97th percentile. Compared to his 2025 numbers, where Acuna ranked in the 11th percentile in average exit velocity and the 26th percentile in hard-hit percentage, this is a significant improvement.
It’s only spring training, and the sample size is very small, but Acuna really struggled to pull the ball in the air last season, doing so in just 2.8% of his at bats last season. So far this spring, he’s pulled fly balls in 21.4% of his at bats, an improvement of nearly 20%. This represents a continuation of a strong showing in the Venezuelan Winter League and offseason adjustments the White Sox hitting staff has implemented in an effort to get Acuna driving the ball more.
Acuna's early spring results show improvement in key areas
The Score’s baseball insider Bruce Levine said on the radio that the White Sox envision Acuna batting near the top of their order and taking 500 at bats this season. He’ll likely never be the middle-of-the-order bat in their lineup that Luis Robert Jr was in his prime, but Acuna’s combination of speed and defensive versatility create a valuable player, and the White Sox believe there’s more in the tank than he’s shown on offense. Between Acuna, Everson Pereira, and Jarred Kelenic, the White Sox have a handful of young outfielders with upside that they hope can figure things out at the big league level in 2026. Top outfield prospect Braden Montgomery should also be a factor this season in Chicago.
Whether Luisangel Acuna’s early spring success will carry over to the regular season or not remains to be seen, but the 24 year-old is showing signs of some meaningful improvements. He’s slated to see significant time in the outfield and get every opportunity to prove he belongs at the big league level. If he does, White Sox fans can feel much better knowing their return for Luis Robert Jr. is stronger than expected.