The Atlanta Braves have called up outfielder and 20-year-old Ronald Acúna Jr … here is our scouting report on the Braves and the MLB’s top prospect!
The day is finally upon us! It’s for real, folks! The Atlanta Braves have promoted outfielder and top prospect Ronald Acúna Jr! The stud kid from La Guaira, Venezuela will be making his MLB debut Wednesday night in Cincinnati at the age of 20-years-old and 128 days. This will be the youngest Brave to play in the majors since Julio Teheran in 2011 at the age of 20-years-old and 100 days.
Before the 2017 season, Ben Chase wrote this scouting report on a Braves prospect with a lot of potential. That was before he absolutely exploded onto the scene. His scouting reports skyrocketed as he jumped from Single-A to Double-A to Triple-A in one season.
MLB Pipeline’s current scouting grades are as followed – Hit: 60 | Power: 65 | Run: 70 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 70
Acúna will wear lucky number 13 for the 2018 season. DOB said he’s a big Wilt Chamberlain fan. To make room for Acúna, the Braves DFA’d Peter Bourjos.
It’s happening! #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/wK9JQIqJNl
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 25, 2018
Enjoy this read as we prepare for Acúna’s debut tonight…first pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm ET.
Player Profile
The Atlanta Braves signed Acuna from Venezuela in 2014 for the “light” sum of $100K.
He opened 2015 with the Gulf Coast League and after 37 games, he hit well enough to show he was ready for time with Danville in the Appalachian League.
His overall line was .269/.380/.438 over 237 plate appearances with 4 home runs and 16 stolen bases. He posted a 28/42 BB/K ratio, good for an 11.81% walk rate and 17.72% strikeout rate.
There was a lot of buzz about Acuna in the offseason, and even more so in spring training as people began to throw around Andruw Jones comparisons to Acuna’s skill set, which is an impressive guy to be compared to, especially in the Atlanta system who knows what young Andruw looked like.
Acuna started out in Rome in the full-season South Atlantic League, an impressive assignment for an 18 year-old. He hit well out of the gate before a thumb injury derailed his season on May 9th.
Acuna returned to action on August 22nd in the GCL for rehab and returned to Rome on August 26th to help with a playoff push that resulted in a South Atlantic League championship. On the season he hit .312/.392/.429 combined over 179 plate appearances with 4 home runs and 14 stolen bases, posting a 19/29 BB/K ratio.
Over the winter, Acuna participated in the Australian Baseball League. He was part of 20 games with Melbourne, posting a .375/.446/.556 line with 2 home runs and 13 stolen bases, along with a 10/13 BB/K ratio.
Next: Acuna's scouting report