Ronald Acuna Jr.'s bat is heating up
One of my biggest fears heading into 2024 came true just a few series' into 2024 and it was that Ronald Acuna Jr. would fail to live up to the impossible standards he set last year.
I'll admit, for Ronnie's standards in any season of his big league career, the start to this season could probably be considered a slump. But anyone that's watched this guy play baseball over the last six years knows what was happening heading into this series, wasn't going to last for long.
First, he got that monkey off his back with his first home run of the season, a tank to center field in the series finale on Wednesday, putting the Braves up 2-1 in the fifth inning. But he also went 5-for-11 with that solo bomb, a double, and two runs scored. He also very well could have had a home run in each of the first two games as well, with foul balls with home run distance pulled just foul in each of those games.
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β Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) April 17, 2024
He didn't look the most comfortable at the plate to start the season, but this series brings him to a .294/.400/.397 slash line and a .797 OPS.
Obviously, we want that OPS and slugging percentage up more and I have a hard time believing it won't go up, but even if we have to settle for a guy who gets on base 40% of the time and can lead the league in stolen bases, the Braves will still win a lot of games that way.