After missing the first two months of the 2025 MLB season due to injury, Ronald Acuña Jr. returned to the field at the end of May, and has quickly turned the Atlanta Braves into must-see TV for baseball fans. And, according to a new player poll by The Athletic, Acuña’s return has also been must-see TV for the rest of the baseball world as well.
The poll, which asked players a variety of questions about the current state of MLB, asked players which current player they enjoy watching most, with Acuña coming in third behind Shohei Ohtani and Bobby Witt Jr.
Acuña got 10 of 135 votes, while Ohtani had 29 and Witt had 14.
Poll from The Athletic shows Ronald Acuña Jr. among MLB players' favorites to watch
It makes sense that Acuña finished as high as he did given what he can do on the baseball field. He’s hitting .363 with six home runs and 11 RBI in just 18 games this year, and has been one of the few bright spots for the Braves this year.
The poll also included some anonymous insight from the players who voted for Acuña.
“His swag is very electric,” one player said. “First-pitch homer, that was crazy. How he runs the bases, how he swings. Everything is special about him. … I’d pay for a ticket to see him.”
The play the player was likely referencing came last month when Acuña smashed a home run in his first swing off the injured list against the Padres’ Nick Pivetta.
And while Acuña has said that he won’t be running at the same rate he had in 2023 when he posted the first 40 home run, 70 steal season in MLB history en route to his first career MVP, he still has 196 career steals to go along with his 171 career home runs.
It’ll be interesting to see where Acuña will be in The Athletic’s poll next year. He missed nearly a year due to his leg injury, which dampened the amount of attention he got compared to Witt Jr and Ohtani. However, the Braves aren't quite as good this year and may get less attention overall as a result.
In the same time frame, Ohtani led the Dodgers to a World Series win, while Witt won a batting title and racked up an MVP runner-up finish on a Royals team that made the postseason. They were able to stack accomplishments at a time when Acuña was on the mend. But he's back and ready to remind everyone in baseball what he can do.
Acuña’s wasted no time making his presence known since returning from the injured list, and it’s clear that the rest of MLB is paying attention.
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