The $5 million bonus the Mets gave Elian Peña for signing was second only to Roki Sasaki for the 2025 international signing period. Through the first 54 games of his young career, the 17-year-old is already showing why.
The crown jewel of the Mets’ international class belted three big home runs in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Mets Orange’s 15-2 victory over the DSL Angels on Monday. And guess what? It was the second time he's done that as a pro.
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Peña became just the third player since 2005 to tally two three-homer performances in the same season before turning 20 years old, joining Travis Denker (2005) and Joey Gallo (2013). And he's also in select company when it comes to hitting the home run trifecta twice this season. Jose Rojas is the only other pro who has done so -- the Yankees infielder accomplished the feats for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 1 and July 19.
To add to the prestige, Peña is the only player to notch two three-homer games in his first season as a professional since such stats started being archived in 2005 -- and just the sixth player 18 or younger to record even a single three-homer game over that span.
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Touted for his strong plate discipline and ability to spray the ball to all fields as the No. 3 international prospect, Peña flexed his opposite-field pop with his first homer of the contest Monday, depositing a two-seam fastball from 6-foot-5 right-hander Steven Cabrera (Angels) over the left-field wall.
For his next two roundtrippers, Peña tapped into his pull-side power. The Mets’ No. 10 prospect launched a pair of high fastballs -- one from Cabrera and the other from right-hander Kauriel Leon -- deep into the palm trees beyond the right-field wall. Peña finished the contest 4-for-5 with six RBIs, raising his season slash line to .299/.423/.540.
Hailing from Azua, Dominican Republic, the same hometown as MLB’s No. 3 prospect Leo De Vries, Peña’s first season has been a story of two halves. The lefty-hitting shortstop went 0-for-26 through his first nine DSL contests before recording a knock on June 14 and finding his stride over the course of his next 44 games.
From June 14 to Aug. 18, Peña has posted a .351/.467/.635 slash line. In August alone, he has slashed .442/.529/.860. His nine roundtrippers are tied for third-best on the circuit and his .963 OPS tops all Mets Minor Leaguers. Peña has also collected more walks (35) than strikeouts (33), a testament to his polish at the dish.
The 23-year-old Sasaki may already be in Los Angeles, but Peña has done something no other current big leaguer has this season with his pair of three-homer performances.