Ronald Acuña Jr. passed key test with insane defensive play against the Mets

ByEric Cole|
New York Mets v Atlanta Braves
New York Mets v Atlanta Braves | Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/GettyImages

Unless you gave up on the team a while ago (we get it), Atlanta Braves fans who have been actually been paying attention have to be thrilled with what they are seeing out of Ronald Acuña Jr. since his return. He has been so good, in fact, that there is growing momentum behind the idea that he should play in the All-Star Game despite missing so much of the first half of the season. However, it has been clear that he has been very cautious with certain aspects of his game.

Given that Acuña is coming off his second major knee injury, he is being extremely careful in the field and on the bases. Acuña has just one stolen base since returning after being one of the most run-happy hitters in baseball before he got hurt. He clearly is trying to protect his legs where he can so that he can stay on the field.

However, the Braves needed him to take a chance on Tuesday night in order to stay in the game. A long fly ball to right threatened to break the ninth inning open with Juan Soto already on base. Fortunately for the Braves, Acuña Jr. rose to the occasion and then some.

Ronald Acuña Jr.'s amazing catch is a great sign for the Braves going forward

First, this catch was pure cinema. Marcell Ozuna had just tied the game thanks to a bases-clearing double and Atlanta had all of the momentum. Soto reached base and when Alonso put a charge into the pitch from Dylan Lee, you could feel the crowd holding their breath. Instead, Acuña made a great jumping catch at the wall and quickly threw to first for the double play because Soto hesitated waiting for a ruling from the umpires.

More than the result of the play itself, this play showed that when needed, Acuña can still be dynamic in the field. There is no world where he will run as much as he did and he isn't going to sacrifice his body needlessly trying to make a highlight reel catch, but the ability is still in there. When he absolutely needs to call on his quick twitch athleticism, this catch showed that he can and will.

Again, Acuña being cautious in the outfield and on the bases makes loads of sense. No one wants to see him go on the shelf with an injury any time soon. However, we did just see that anyone thinking that he can't be the same guy he was before the injury are very, very wrong.

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