It is with no small amount of satisfaction that I write this post. The most exciting Braves prospect since at least Andruw Jones is reportedly set to make his major league debut tonight in Cincinnati.
The Player
Ronald Acuña, Jr., OF
Age: 20
OFR Prospect Rank: 1
2018 Level: AAA Gwinnett
The Results
2018: .232/.321/.304 | 1 HR | 4 SB | 11% BB | 27.4% K | 72 wRC+
Minor League Career: .305/.374/.475 | 30 HR | 78 SB | 8.9% BB | 21.3% K | 145 wRC+
The History
The son of former Mets farmhand Ron Acuña, Acuña Jr. was a $100,000 international amateur signing out of Venezuela in 2014. His loud tools and advanced bat-handling got him noticed in rookie ball in 2015, and he’s made a rapid ascent up the organizational ladder, slowed only by a thumb injury that cost him ten weeks of his 2016 season. That season he helped the Rome Braves capture their first South Atlantic League championship in 13 years. In 2017 he blitzed the Braves farm system, stopping at advanced-A Florida, AA Mississippi, and AAA Gwinnett in succession and improving his performance at each stop. He was named Minor League Player of the Year by nearly every baseball publication after the season and was viewed as either the top or close to the top prospect in baseball heading into the 2018 season.
Acuña did nothing to dampen the anticipation of him eminent promotion to the major leagues by hitting .432/.519/.727 in spring training. Nevertheless, the team elected to return him to AAA to start the season, ostensibly for further development but in reality to keep him in the minors long enough to secure his service rights through the 2024 season. Acuña stumbled out of the gate with Gwinnett, but has hit .333/.405/.455 over the last 8 games. This was apparently enough of a hot streak to allow the Braves front office to select Acuña’s contract.
The Report
At the plate, Acuña has advanced bat control and power. That combination has been deadly to opposing minor league pitchers. The first 8 games of his 2018 AAA stint Acuña seemed to be having trouble identifying the pitch out of the pitcher’s hand and was out-of-sync. It is possible that Acuña was pressing at the plate to try to justify a quick promotion.
Acuña is very fast, which makes him a basestealing threat. That is somewhat countered by very raw basestealing skills, one of the few clear flaws in his game. That same speed allows him to play any outfield position, though it does cause occasional over-aggressiveness.
See also: Fifty Prospects in Fifty Days: Ronald Acuña
What’s Next
If all goes to plan, Acuña will man an outfield position from now until at least 2024, providing ridiculous production and leading the Braves to multiple pennants. The hype is real. Guarded optimism is my default setting for most things, but there’s every reason right now to believe Ronald Acuña, Jr. is a franchise-defining talent.
Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There’s a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we’ve been so many timesThe grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river
Forever and ever-“High Hopes”, Pink Floyd
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