Atlanta Braves Alex Anthopoulos and MLB.com extremely high on Ronald Acuna
By Jeff Schafer
Braves top prospect, outfielder Acuna, is getting praise from all over
The Atlanta Braves have one of the top prospects in the game — MLB Pipeline’s #6 ranked prospect — and he’s almost ready for his MLB debut.
20-year-old, Ronald Acuna, seems ready for the next step in his professional career. Depending on how he performs during the 2018 Spring Training, he could be in Atlanta on Opening Day.
It’s also possible the Braves send him to Gwinnett to start the 2018 season in hopes to gain another year of control. If he dominates in ST, it will be tough to send him down.
It didn’t take long for new GM Alex Anthopoulos to realize he has something special as well. AA traded away Matt Kemp to open a spot in the outfield. He’s spoken many times already this offseason about how special Acuna is.
Last week, he spoke with MLB Network about Acuna’s potential…
In 2017, Acuna jumped from High Single-A, to Double-A, to Triple-A. He didn’t just fill a roster spot, he was outstanding every place he went. Even in the Arizona Fall League he batted .325/.414/.639 with four homers in 19 games.
Should we be excited about this young kid? Absolutely. BUT, we’re known for putting way too much pressure of these types of talented folks. By saying that, I’m not saying we do this on purpose or it’s an individual attack by me, it just means in general a lot of pressure is put on them.
People respond to pressure differently. No telling what the future holds with Acuna, but we have all watched in front of our eyes prospects that can’t handle this.
Here’s the kicker though
On this snowy Wednesday morning while drinking coffee, I went to MLB.com to see what new articles they’ve got. The top headline was “How many future HOFers will play in 2018” — okay, that sounds cool, let’s click on this!
So yeah, pretty cool post. Looking down the list it’s cool to step back and see the active players in the MLB that may have a shot at the MLB Hall of Fame. It kinda puts into realization how difficult it is to get into the HOF…if Andruw Jones struggling to stay on the ballot isn’t enough for you.
MLB and Mike Petriello put together this list of 45 MLB active players. It’s mostly based off of career WAR.
The top 10 guys on the list are the following…
- Albert Pujols
- Adrian Beltre
- Miguel Cabrera
- Clayton Kershaw
- Mike Trout
- CC Sabathia
- Justin Verlander
- Zack Greinke
- Joey Votto
- Robinson Cano
If you’re curious — as I was definitely — do the Braves have anyone on this list? Yep! The Atlanta Braves have two players on this list!!
With a career WAR of 25, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman comes in at #24 on the list. Freeman is right ahead of guys like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado. If you visit the article, you’ll notice obviously, that the younger players are a little lower on the list.
Former Brave, Craig Kimbrel is #29 on this list. But he’s not the other “Brave”.
The second of two Braves players on this list was the topic of this article…Ronald Acuna.
Wow, without playing an inning or taking a swing in the MLB, Acuna makes this list. The 20-year-old is slated in at #40 on this list. Talk about added pressure now, ha!
Angels offseason prize acquisition Shoehei Ohtani fell in right behind Acuna in #41 spot. Behind him is Michael Confronto, Xander Bogaerts, Noah Syndergaard and Gary Sanchez.
Next: A third base idea that makes sense for the Braves
Making the HOF is a huge honor and something all ball players strive for. Acuna has said in a previous interview that making the MLB HOF is a goal of his.
For right now though, I’ll take a solid rookie season with a nice NL Rookie of the Year Award!