Signed by the Mets on the January 15, 2025, Peña was the organization’s crown jewel for the 2025-2026 international free agent signing period. Considered one of the best position players available in the class, and potentially the best position player available, the Mets and Peña agreed to a $5 million dollar signing bonus, shattering the prior organizational record (Yovanny Rodriguez, $2.85 million) and eating up the majority of the $6,261,600 that the team had in their 2025-2026 pool.
Overview
Name: Elian
Peña Position: INF Born: 10/19/2007 (Age 18 season in 2026) Height: 5’10” Weight: 180 lbs. Bats/Throws: L/R Acquired: IFA, January 15, 2025 (Dominican Republic) 2025 Stats: 55 G, 178 AB, .292/.421/.528, 52 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 36 BB, 36 K, 21/25 SB, .319 BABIP (Rookie-DSL)
Assigned to the Dominican Summer League, Peña has had an interesting start to his career so far. The 17-year-old shortstop started his career on June 2 for the DSL Mets Orange and went 0-2 with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. He would go 0-fer for roughly two weeks before logging his first professional hit on June 14th, going 1-3. After finally getting over that hurtle, Peña hit an incredible .351/.467/.635 over the course of the rest of the season. In total, he ended up hitting .292/.421/.528 in 178 at-bats over 55 games with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 21 stolen bases in 25 attempts, and drew an even 36 walks to 36 strikeouts. Not just once, but twice, Peña hit three home runs in a single game; on June 26 when he went 4-5 with a double and three homers, and on August 18, when he went 4-5 with a single and three homers.
Listed a 5’11”, 170-pounds, Peña is almost certainly a little bigger and heavier than that now. He stands slightly open at the plate, holding his hands at the shoulders and wrapping his bat behind his head angled at 10:30. He swings with a slight leg lift but no real load or weight shift, primarily pulling the ball right now at a 48.5% rate and going back up the middle and to the opposite field at a 22.1% and 29.4% rate, respectively. His swing has natural uppercut and is designed towards putting the ball in the air, but was a bit slow and stiff according to scouts and evaluators early on in the season; whether it was just because he was still getting accustomed to professional baseball or not remains to be seen.
Despite the current lack of explosivity, Peña still makes loud contact, with a high-water exit velocity mark of 99.8 MPH as per public broadcasts of DSL contests where data is available. He does not expand the zone much, either. Peña was marketed as a hitter with his advanced pitch recognition and plate discipline for his age, and while that may be true broadly, the level of pitching he has been facing so far may simply be too embryonic to really get a good gauge on whether or not he actually is, or whether or not he only is currently for his cohort, relative to their current pitching abilities.
Peña’s lower half has thickened since first being scouted professionally, and he seemingly is still far from being physically maxed out. Defensively, he has the tools and ability to play shortstop but may be better suited at third base in the future depending on how quick-twitch athletic he remains. His range at shortstop is not currently an issue, but it may be taxed if he slows down in the future. His plus arm, smooth hands, and strong instincts work at either position.
2026 Mets Top 25 Prospect List
14) Zach Thornton
15) Nick Morabito
16) R.J. Gordon
17) Chris Suero
18) Dylan Ross
19) Ryan Lambert
20) Antonio Jimenez
21) Edward Lantigua
22) Eli Serrano III
23) Randy Guzman
24) Daiverson Gutierrez
25) Boston Baro
