Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. exited Tuesday’s game with hip tightness, which likely will end his pursuit of a 40-40 season in 2019.
Obviously the most important thing for the Atlanta Braves and Ronald Acuna Jr. is making sure he’s healthy for the postseason.
That is why it’s probably safe to assume he won’t be picking up the 3 stolen bases he needs to reach 40 in the next four games.
If I had to guess, Acuna will almost certainly sit out the game on Wednesday, and then there is a good chance he is limited over the weekend as well against the New York Mets.
Especially with Freddie Freeman already banged up, the Atlanta Braves have to be extra cautious here with Acuna, even though I don’t think this hip injury is a big deal.
But the Atlanta Braves hopes of advancing in the postseason are greatly diminished if Acuna and Freeman are banged up.
The primary concern for Brian Snitker and the team over the next week should be making sure those two guys, in particular, are as close to 100 percent as possible going into game one of the NLDS.
As for Acuna’s pursuit of 40-40, I’ll be honest and say I’m highly disappointed. To me, this was the most intriguing storyline in all of baseball in the final week with all of the postseason races pretty much over — especially division races.
I really thought Acuna was going to get those final three stolen bases this week and join that exclusive 40-40 club.
But at the same time, I know if Ronald stays healthy he’ll have more opportunities to reach that goal. Especially if he’s more aggressive on the bases out of the gate next year.
This season he didn’t really start stealing bases until after the All-Star break. He only swiped six bags in June and then doubled that in July.
If he makes it his goal from the beginning next year to reach 40 stolen bases, then I have no doubt he can get there. And if the baseballs remain the same next season, I have no doubt he can hit 40 home runs again.
So while it’s a huge bummer that he likely won’t accomplish this goal in 2019, it just adds more intrigue for future seasons.