It really didn’t take long for this phenom to catch fire and become a feared hitter. But Acuña Jr. is even becoming more than that.
After bursting on the scene and making himself a household name to everyone in the country, Ronald Acuña, Jr is already in the upper echelon of players… all of them – not just those of the Atlanta Braves. However, I’m going to lay out the reasons here why I think he is already the most valuable team asset among all players in Major League Baseball.
Acuna just recently turned 21 (I hope he enjoyed his night) and he obviously has a bright future ahead of him. Many players keep improving until they hit their late 20’s and if Acuna keeps improving, there is no telling how good he may be in a few years.
As noted, he will play the entire 2019 season at the age of 21. Acuna is not slated to become a free agent until 2024, so that in itself makes him extremely valuable… the Braves enjoy maximum team control.
Untouchable?
In Baseball, you often hear the words untouchable, and I myself don’t really like to use that term much because honestly, almost anyone can be traded. Mike Trout is the best player in the game but the Angels would deal him if the Braves offered its top 10 prospects.
However, unless an offer like that comes along (and we all know it won’t) the Braves won’t move Acuna for anything. In my head, there are only about 5 players in the whole game whose team would flat out say ‘no’ to any reasonable trade offer and Acuna is one of them.
Check the hardware shelf again
One last reminder…this was all done before he could legally go into a bar, but in case you needed a reminder of what all he has accomplished thus far.
- 2018 NL Rookie of the Year
- 12th in MVP Voting
- 8th highest slugging% in the NL
- 4th player in MLB history to lead off HR both games in a Doubleheader
- Youngest player ever to hit a HR in 5 straight games
- Already selected for a MLB-Japan All star series
That’s just his first 111 games, folks.
We all mostly knew this though, so let’s move on to the other options one could argue about.
Comparisons
- Mike Trout – I know I said Mike Trout is the best player in the game and that’s because he is. However, only having 2 years on his deal left before Free Agency makes Acuna more valuable to his team than Trout.
- Francisco Lindor– Lindor is another outstanding player but his contract only has 3 years left and he is now making more than $10 million per season, which is still a deal but Acuna is making less than $600K.
- Mookie Betts– See Trout above.
- Blake Snell– Snell without a doubt burst out last year and made himself a name and while he is on the pay scale alongside Acuna, he is 5 years older and obviously only pitches once every 5 days or so.
- Alex Bregman– A special rising player indeed, but the one thing that still keeps Acuna more valuable is he has one more year on his current deal than Bregman.
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr – Most likely Vlad Jr is going to be this years version of Acuna, but I will take the player who has already shown it and doesn’t play his home games on artificial turf.
So when you account for Salary, Contract Length, and physical tools… I still have Ronald Acuna Jr as the most valuable player in the game today. How about you? Let us know in the comments below.