Pair of Atlanta Braves prospects take AFL Player of the Week honors
Braves Country needs all the good news it can get these days. Luckily, as usual, the farm system is the gift that keeps on giving.
If you thought the end of the regular season around Minor League Baseball meant waiting until early next year for any Atlanta Braves prospect action, you forgot about the Arizona Fall League.
It was announced on Tuesday that a pair of Atlanta farm hands had stolen the show over the last week of play out west with Ronald Acuna and Max Fried taking AFL Player of the Week honors.
For the Arizona Fall League’s week three awards, Acuna and Fried made it an Atlanta organization sweep.
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Acuna, an outfielder, has yet to make his big league debut. Having worked his way up from high-A Florida to double-A Mississippi, Acuna finished the 2017 season at triple-A Gwinnett. The Venezuelan native combined last season to hit .325/.374/.522, racking up 181 hits, 21 homers, 82 RBI, 88 runs and 44 stolen bases.
Max Fried ended his 2017 campaign with the big club, having made his MLB debut in early August. Fried was one of the Atlanta pitching standouts who managed to skip high-A altogether, working his way from Mississippi to the majors. He spent a brief time at triple-A as well last season.
Fried, who in less than a year went from pitching in the South Atlantic League playoffs for the Rome Braves en route to a 2016 championship, found himself in Atlanta down the stretch. He went 1-1 last season, managing a 3.81 ERA in nine games (four starts). He carried a WHIP of 1.62 through 26 innings and struck out 22 batters.
Back-to-back jacks! #Braves' Ronald Acuna & Austin Riley. #4 for each. Only player with more: @Braves' Alex Jackson. https://t.co/rzBx9qSwpM pic.twitter.com/vIyxvd6Lir
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 31, 2017
Acuna, who was named MLB Pipeline’s Hitter of the Year at the ripe old age of 19, won’t turn 20 until December 18 of this year. He went 10-for-21 with a trio of both doubles and homers. He racked up a dozen runs and six RBI with a .475 batting average last week alone.
UPDATE: He added a 3-for-5 performance on Tuesday with another homer (4th) and a double.
Through 19 AFL innings, the 23-year-old Fried has struck out his age in batters so far. He gave up only five hits in 11 innings last week, including only one run. Fried struck out 12 of his 23 total batters during that time as well.
Next: Austin Riley hits for cycle in Arizona Fall League
Acuna celebrated his award by going back-to-back with fellow Braves slugger Austin Riley on Tuesday in a 9-2 win for their Peoria squad. Riley, along with Atlanta’s Alex Jackson have both been having outstanding AFL campaigns as well. Riley has already hit for the cycle this off season, while Jackson leads the fall league with five homers.