Atlanta Braves top prospect Ronald Acuna’s special day

Jeff Schafer

MIAMI, FL - JULY 09: Ronald Acuna #24 of the Atlanta Braves and the World Team warms up prior to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game at Marlins Park on July 9, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

Acuna matata! Congrats to our boy

The talk around town for weeks now has been: Atlanta Braves top prospect Ronald Acuna is ready for the Major Leagues, but the Braves don’t have room for him in their outfield. After the Braves traded Matt Kemp to the LA Dodgers, now they do.

In return for Kemp, the Braves received pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir, utility man Charlie Culberson, cash considerations as well as Adrian Gonzalez, who was DFA’d right away. But the biggest return on the trade could be the roster spot.

Though the Braves had room on the 40-man roster already, the roster spot is the outfield spot we needed open for Acuna. It’s now open and it’s now ready for him.

One thing people have been saying is, he’s too young for the MLB. Well, folks we’ve got news for you. He’s not as young as you think.

TODAY is ACUNA’s BIRTHDAY!! The wonder-boy turned 20-years-old today!

For translation of his post…

"“One more year of life thank god happy birthday to me. Congratulation on your birthday minor. A lot of life and health you keep breaking and every time you climb a step of triumph upload two of humility.”"

Andruw Jones, Johan Camargo, Pristian Pache were a few to send birthday wishes to Acuna on Instagram.

The speculations and questioning of whether or not Acuna will be on the Braves Opening Day roster will be almost everywhere you look. If he shows up and explodes on the scene like he’s done everywhere else he’s gone, the Braves can’t send him to Triple-A.

Braves manager Brian Snitker told MLB Network during the Winter Meetings that “if the young guys are ready, they’ll play.”

The club could opt to delay his MLB debut until later in the 2018 season. His time in an Atlanta Braves uniform could start in early June so the Braves can have that extra year of service time.

Next: Braves Charlie Culberson could help the Braves in 2018

Braves beat writer Mark Bowman wrote today that “…as things stand, it seems more prudent to stall his start and extend his controllable years in Atlanta.”

Seems great for the future, but we want him NOW! Can it be baseball season yet!?

Jeff Schafer

"Playing baseball is not real life. It's a fantasy world... It's a dream come true." - Dale Murphy......Jeff began playing baseball at a young age and has continued to play the great game ever since. He attended Pfeiffer University on a baseball scholarship but after getting injured his sophomore season, he decided to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he became President of the Club Baseball team.Jeff is an Emmy Award winning Producer with great knowledge of baseball as well as insight of the game. He is always looking for the story no one else is covering or possible leads from popular stories.