Braves: Be More Worried About Coronavirus Than Ronald Acuña Jr. Spring Training Stats

Atlanta Braves MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. is not having a great spring training, but we’re here to remind you there is nothing to worry about.

We’re at the midpoint of spring training for the Atlanta Braves and a lot of us are over these meaningless games and ready for the real thing.

And there may not be anyone more ready for spring training to be over than Ronald Acuna Jr.

Through nine games and 24 at-bats the Braves outfielder has just 2 hits, no extra-base hits, and has struck out 11 times.

I know that one of those hits was also an infield single that he beat out, so it’s not like he’s been scorching the baseball when he has made contact.

But is there a real reason for concern?

In his previous three spring training stints, he’s hit .296, .432., and .314 respectively. And the past two preseasons he’s hit 4 home runs each year.

Typically Acuna has been really good in spring training, so should we be concerned about his slow start in spring training this year?

Not at all.

Maybe if Acuna didn’t already have over 1,000 at-bats in the Major Leagues under his belt you’d have validation for being alarmed.

But he’s shown us over two seasons that he can not just handle but dominate Major League pitching.

The only thing that concerns me is the strikeouts. He punched out 188 times last season, which was the second-most in baseball.

I get that strikeouts aren’t as big of a deal in today’s game, and even Mike Trout struck out 184 times in his third full season and still won the MVP, but I’d like to see Acuna do a better job of limiting the strikeouts.

But I am in no way concerned with the poor numbers he’s putting up this Spring. As long he get’s his swings in and stays healthy I still believe he’ll be a legitimate MVP candidate in 2020.

And I wouldn’t be surprised to see Acuna turn it on these last couple of weeks in spring training making us look silly for even considering being worried.

Coronavirus Update

A report on The Athletic (paywall) said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to meet with league owners on Monday, March 9 to talk about the coronavirus.

At this time it does not appear the league will delay the start of the season or prohibit fans from attending games.

But as people rightfully remain cautious about the virus, expect it to have an impact on attendance at least to start the season.

While I don’t personally advise you to panic as most of the media would have you do, just be smart when thinking about attending games and be respectful of those around you.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.