The Atlanta Braves have had a lot of stand out performers in 2023, but none have stood out as much as Ronald Acuna Jr. has. Not only did he put up the first 40/70 season in MLB history, but he is at or near the top of a slew of offensive categories and set several Braves franchise records along the way.
However, the NL MVP race was (and in some ways still is) very close at the start of September between him and the Dodgers' Mookie Betts. Betts hung around for most of the season before going absolutely nuclear in August to get himself in the conversation. However, Ronald put most doubts to rest with a September for the ages and was rewarded for his efforts with yet another NL Player of the Month award for his work in September.
Your NL Player of the Month: @ronaldacunajr24! pic.twitter.com/3RAxVFBVOu
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 3, 2023
Ronald Acuna Jr. wins National League Player of the Month for September
Just looking at his numbers from the past month is silly. His OPS in September was his best month of the season and that is saying something considering he didn't post an OPS lower than .917 in any month in 2023. 29 runs scored, 11 homers, 11 stolen bases, 36 hits...these are video game numbers and not stretches seen very often in the game of baseball and Ronnie has basically done this all season long.
Given that Ronald did get the 40/70 season, he is likely the overwhelming favorite to win the NL MVP award now especially since Mookie only had a modest 112 wRC+ the last month of the season (versus Ronald's insane 192 wRC+ over the same timeframe).
This is also Ronald's third Player of the Month award this season as he also won it in April and June. No Braves player had previous won multiple Player of the Month awards in a season since Andruw Jones pulled it off back in 2005.