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Atlanta Braves ‘pepper’: questions, answers about the upcoming season

By Alan Carpenter

ATLANTA, GA - SEP 20: Charlie Culberson of the Atlanta Braves reacts at the conclusion of an MLB game against the San Francisco Giants in which they clinched the NL East at SunTrust Park on September 20, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEP 20: Charlie Culberson of the Atlanta Braves reacts at the conclusion of an MLB game against the San Francisco Giants in which they clinched the NL East at SunTrust Park on September 20, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – JULY 19: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on July 19, 2019. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – JULY 19: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on July 19, 2019. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /

Youthful Exuberance

QUESTION 2:  Cardinal fans saw all they wanted of Ronald Acuna Jr. in the NLDS.  Is last year’s season about what you expect from him or is there still more in there?

The only concern I have about Acuna is his concentration level.  I think we all saw in the playoffs what he can be when he stays focused.

I’ll speak a bit later about player maturity, but in this specific case, if Acuna can maintain his baseball ‘zone’ more often, he will become an absolute monster.

That clearly is difficult to maintain over the course of a 162-game grind, but the first step is to think less about himself, the batflips, and the admiration of high-arching fly balls that may-or-may-not leave the yard.

I’m not quite sure if he’s there yet… a number of his actions over the past year or so point to an athlete who’s still trying to draw attention to himself.

After the first day in camp, though – and his arrival was with the very first group of position players seen this week – perhaps there’s now a sign of more focus.  We’ll see soon enough how that goes going forward.

I’ll grant that this criticism sounds more like a parent talking, but the flip side of that coin is that Acuna clearly wants to have the spotlight on him, and that only works if he’s producing at a high level.  He’s still clearly having fun with this game, and that’s not hurting him a bit.

We’ll see if that concern is warranted soon enough, but to directly answer your question:  there are those in this sport who are speaking Acuna’s name in the same breath as that of Mike Trout, so yes:  there is definitely more to come.

Those folks with that opinion have reason to be listened to.  Check baseball-reference.com’s list of Acuna’s “Similar Batters through (age) 21“:

  • Frank Robinson
  • Miguel Cabrera
  • Giancarlo Stanton
  • Hank Aaron
  • Justin Upton
  • Tony Conigliaro
  • Eddie Mathews
  • Mike Trout

That’s a heckuva list.  One of these seasons – soon – Acuna is just going to go off and put up 10 WAR or something.  He’s fully capable.  He’s scary-good.

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