Black MLB Players #12: OF Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. comes from an Afro-Latino family that has played professional baseball for three generations
Background + Path to Professional Baseball
Ronald Acuña Jr. is a 25-year-old Afro-Venezuelan outfielder from La Guaira, Venezuela. Acuña Jr. belongs to a family that has an extensive history with professional baseball. His grandfather and father played in the minor leagues, and he has one uncle and four cousins that played in MLB at one point or another as well. Acuña Jr. has a younger brother named Luisangel Acuña who is an infielder in the Texas Rangers organization and a younger brother named Bryan Acuña who is an infielder in the Minnesota Twins organization.
Ronald Acuña Jr. signed with the Atlanta Braves as an international free agent in 2014, for $100,000 dollars as a relatively unheralded international prospect. After not making much noise while progressing through the lower levels of the minor leagues, he exploded onto the scene as a top prospect in 2017. He tore through High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A in 2017, batting .325/.374/.522 with 21 homers, 82 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases in 139 games.
After the 2017 season, he was invited to the Arizona Fall League, hitting 7 home runs in 23 games, winning the league championship, and becoming the youngest MVP in the history of the AFL.
After debuting in the 2018 season for the Atlanta Braves, Acuña Jr. exceeded the high expectations placed on him by the baseball world. Acuña Jr. was the youngest player in the MLB after he got called up, a distinction that formerly belonged to his teammate Ozzie Albies.
Acuña Jr. played 111 games in 2018, batting .293/.366/.552, playing above-average defense and showing off his elite athleticism and baseball IQ on the basepaths. During the 2018 postseason, he became the youngest MLB player to hit a grand slam in a playoff game. After the 2018 season, he won 96% of the 1st place votes for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
In 2019, Acuña Jr. followed up his rookie season by leading the NL in runs scored, stolen bases, and hitting 41 home runs. Acuña Jr. showed off his 5 tool skillset, combining elite athleticism and elite baseball skills to establish himself as one of the best baseball players on the planet.
The Braves 5-tool superstar played 46 games during the shortened 2020 season, putting up a .250/.406/.581 slash line with 11 doubles, 14 home runs, and eight stolen bases.
Acuña Jr. played 82 games during the 2021 season before tearing his ACL in early July, missing the rest of the season. Up until that point of the season, he was first in runs scored and already had more than 40 extra-base hits. He returned to play 119 games during the 2022 season, returning to his All-Star form with a .266/.351/.413 slash line that included 29 stolen bases.
Player Profile
Ronald Acuña Jr. is 6'0'’, and weighs 205 pounds, bats, and throws right-handed. He is built like the prototypical NBA point guard and is just as athletic as one.
Hitting
Acuña Jr. has been one of the most productive right-handed hitters in all of MLB since his debut during the 2018 season. His wRC+, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and runs scored all rank in the top 20 among qualified MLB players despite playing in only 514 of a possible 708 games due to injury.
Per MLB’s baseball savant, he frequently makes hard contact as his 91 mph career exit velocity is three miles per hour faster than the MLB average. His barrel percentage is almost 10 percentage points higher than the MLB average as well.
His approach at the plate is centered around being extremely aggressive with an emphasis on going to left field or straight to center field. Per FanGraphs, batted balls to the pull-side and up the middle account for almost 80% of his results.
Despite his pull-heavy approach, Acuña Jr. has a tremendous ability to hit the baseball the other way. He effortlessly flicks balls to the nosebleed seats in right field that a lot of left-handed hitters could not dream of pulling to similar distances.
His eye at the plate is elite and his ability to draw walks is above-average, possessing an 11% career walk rate that is 3% higher than the MLB average and a chase rate that has been above the 80th percentile three times. This directly correlates with the percentages of swings he takes outside the zone as he is top 50 amongst qualified MLB players in the lowest O-Swing % for multiple seasons.
Fielding
Acuña Jr. is a slightly above-average defender in right field with a very strong and accurate arm. He’s tied for first in average arm strength for outfielders and has one of the top five strongest throws for an outfielder since position player arm strength started being tracked in 2020.
Acuña’s athleticism and speed are the main reasons behind his productivity as a fielder as his motor, consistency, and decision-making skills can leave a bit to be desired. His reaction to the ball off the bat, route running, and ability to read the ball are all slightly below average as well.
Baserunning
Acuña Jr. has been one of MLB’s most productive baserunners since his first season in 2018. Since his first season, he is sixth in stolen bases amongst all MLB players. While the average MLB player takes an extra base 41% of the time when the ball is put in play, Acuña Jr. does so at a 63% clip. He also scores 8% more runs than the average MLB player. You can read more about it on his Baseball Reference page.
Contract
Ronald Acuña Jr. is currently signed to an 8-year contract for $100 million dollars that runs from 2019-2026 with two team options worth $17 million dollars each.
Conclusion
In my opinion, Acuña Jr. has a chance to be one of the best baseball players of this era due to his all-around productivity and youth. Acuña Jr. received the nickname “El Abusador” from Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Sterling Marte for the way he punishes the baseball when he makes contact.
He has quickly become one of the faces of baseball, displaying a vibrant personality on and off the field to go along with his truly remarkable ability to play the game. Acuña Jr. has already established himself as a premier talent amongst the deep class of Black players from throughout the African diaspora to establish themselves as major leaguers during the 2010s, which is a feat in itself.
Acuña Jr. has drawn comparisons(albeit unfairly) to Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente, but I understand the excitement because players that can do what Acuña Jr. does are very rare.