Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: I do not envy Coppy’s job right now
MIAMI, FL – JULY 09: Yordan Alvarez #43 of the Houston Astros and the World Team celebrates in the dugout after scoring in the ninth inning during the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Marlins Park on July 9, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
No Longer a Secret
The fact that Ronald Acuña was named to the Futures Game was a nice honor for the 19-year-old. That he started was a nicer honor. That he played the entire game was downright surprising.
That many suddenly took notice of Acuña’s talent – that’s just what Braves’ fans have been saying all year.
The newest TomahawkTake Top 50 recognizes this: Ronald Acuña is our new #1, displacing Ozzie Albies… who’s nonetheless really starting to tear into AAA pitching himself.
Baseball America has also figured it out, jumping Acuña from #62 on their pre-season Top 100 to #10 three days ago.
We’re still waiting on Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo over at mlbpipeline.com to wake up and smell the smoke coming off Acuña’s bat when he makes contact. They still have him as the 7th-ranked Brave prospect and 86th overall.
At least they are acknowledging that they are getting flak from Braves Country.
Enter Statcast
Mike Petriello wrote about the Futures Game for MLB.com and how impressed he was with all of these ‘future stars’ of the game. But he had one line separated and highlighted from the rest of his write-up:
“Acuna is the star of the show”
Hello! He went further, of course:
"All due respect to Rays prospect Brent Honeywell, who struck out four in two innings, and Marlins prospect Brian Anderson, who singled and doubled, it was Atlanta prospect Ronald Acuna who left us as impressed as anyone on the field. That’s despite the fact that he went 0-4, because remember, this is a showcase of talent more than it is about winning or losing."
…and even further…
"Forget the 0-for-4; suddenly, it’s easy to see why MLBPipeline calls him a five-tool talent, and reminds us that “evaluators get downright giddy when discussing Acuna.”"
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Here’s why:
- He’s still 19
- He’s been hitting.325/.374/.507/.881 since arriving at AA Mississippi
- Got the only “barrelled” ball hit in the game – with an exit speed of 112.3 mph
- That was the hardest hit ball of anyone in a Braves’ uniform for the year. Matt Kemp is next best at 111.9
- That wasn’t a fluke as he was the best of Team World in batting practice homers, getting a prominent mention in that writeup… by Jim Callis.
- He’s got an arm, too: three times firing outfield throws in above 90 mph (peaking at 96.7!)
In 54 games, he’s made 2 outfield errors, but that will play. Acuña also has 18 steals… though he’s been caught 11 times.
If there’s a flaw, it’s about his strikeout rate: in the 23-24% range. But he is hitting .325.
He’s already been at 2 levels in the minors this year – would not be surprised to see Acuña add a third one before August.
If so, Acuña will show up at Gwinnett dragging the mlbpipeline evaluators with him as they try to figure out how to get a ticket onto his bandwagon.
Next: The End of the Beginning
Might be a tough ticket… that wagon is already full.