Atlanta Braves: Will they call up Ronald Acúna Jr on Saturday or wait?

The time is almost here…when exactly will we see Acúna Jr?

Oh here we go again!  The great debate with the Atlanta Braves and top prospect Ronald Acúna Jr.  When will we see the 20-year-old in an Atlanta uniform?

The topic has been going around for a while now.  In 2017, it was “will we see Acúna in 2018”.  During the past offseason, it was “what’s the earliest we’ll see Acúna”.  During Spring Training, it was “will Acúna make the Opening Day roster”.  Towards the end of Spring Training, it was “what’s the date of when Acúna is available to come up to Atlanta and the Braves still control him for that extra year”.

After much talk, the date is April 14th.  That’s the first date that Acúna can play with the Atlanta Braves and the seventh year of play is still on the table.

As of April 10 and four days away from that date, it’s still unknown what the Braves will do.  Will they call up the top prospect in all of baseball (yes, MLB Pipeline)?  Or will they wait a little?  Or wait a few days?

Or will they wait a little?

Braves have been playing Preston Tucker in left field.  Though the 27-year-old has been hitting great and playing the outfield solid, he’s not going to block Acúna.  Tucker is currently hitting .333 with two doubles, two home runs, nine RBIs and five runs scored.

Acúna has played in three games in Triple-A so far in 2018.  He went 0-11 in his first three games, but went 2-4 on Tuesday.  He’s not going to be held down because of these “slow” start stats.

I don’t think they’ll wait a little.

Will they wait a few days?

The Braves play the Chicago Cubs this upcoming weekend.  Friday starts the series in Chicago and we play there until Sunday.  The April 14 day is this upcoming Saturday.  Would the Braves call him up in the middle of a series?

Gwinnett has a home series this weekend that starts on Thursday.  Not too bad of a trip to Chicago, but would the Braves call him up right dab in the middle?  Does it matter?

It’s only supposed to be 47 degrees as the high on Saturday with a 60% chance of rain.  These could obviously change.

The Braves play a home series next week starting on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Would they save his debut for SunTrust Park?  Could be a great way to sell some tickets…

Is Saturday the day?

First pitch is scheduled for 2:20pm ET against the Cubs.  Will this be the first time Acúna’s stats matter?

No one knows exactly right now what the Braves will do — well, maybe some people do — but Braves beat writer Mark Bowman may have gave us a clue on Tuesday afternoon.

When a fan asked Bowman about Chipper Jones being in Cooperstown today and seeing Acúna’s plaque … Bowman responded with this…

Next: Newcomb and Albies shining bright

Clue or nah?  We’ll find out soon enough, but I’ll tell you my thoughts…I want him in the lineup Saturday!