Elian Peña was ranked the third-best international prospect in 2025. He's not doing too shabby domestically, either.
The Mets' No. 8 prospect launched his first stateside homer and also doubled to continue a strong first week for Single-A St. Lucie, which fell, 9-2, to visiting Dunedin on Friday night at Clover Park. Peña has hit safely in all six games this season, opening up 2026 with a .375/.444/.625 slash line with four extra-base hits.
The 18-year-old doubled in the first -- a 65.1 mph bloop -- but crushed his eighth-inning jack at 102 mph on a pitch up and out of the strike zone.
Highly acclaimed entering the 2025 international signing period, Peña signed with the Mets out of the Dominican Republic for a club-record $5 million. The 18-year-old began his pro career in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League ... and it didn't go well.
Peña started off hitless in 26 at-bats, but found his footing and finished on a tear in the DSL. The lefty-swinging shortstop hit .342/.463/.618 with nine homers in 46 games to close out the season, including a pair of three-homer performances on June 26 and Aug. 18.
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The Mets were aggressive with Peña entering the year, having him bypass further time in the Dominican and the Rookie-level Florida Complex League in favor of facing Single-A competition. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder has rewarded the organization's faith in him with a hot start.
Peña has already shown he has the ability to produce loud contact and impact the game in multiple ways. Adjusting after his horrific start last season is testament to that. And while very little can be gleaned out of a six-game sample, he appears comfortable atop the St. Lucie lineup and is picking up where he left off in 2025, only against better and more experienced competition.
The sample size is definitely small, but the ingredients are there for all to see. Bat-to-ball skill, speed and a growing confidence against players who are, on average, three years his senior.
If this is a preview, Peña isn’t just heating up -- he’s accelerating an already aggressive timeline.
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