Ronald Acuña Jr. is one of the most talented players in MLB. In 2019, he hit 41 home runs, stole 37 bases, scored 127 times and drove in 101. In 2023, he hit 41 home runs, stole a whopping 73 bases, scored 149 times and drove in 106.
Unfortunately, the three seasons in between were fraught with a plethora of injuries, as he racked up only 202, 360 and 533 plate appearances. Last season, Acuña only appeared in 49 games due to tearing his left ACL.
Acuña has now torn the ACL in both knees.
Monday delivered some good news, though, as Dr. Neal ElAttrache told the Braves that Acuña’s knee is good to go and that he will begin a rehab assignment later this month.
Currently, the Braves are 17th in runs scored, 11th in home runs, 22nd in stolen bases and 14th in OPS.
It will likely take some time for Acuña to get back into rhythm and there’s uncertainty as to how much he will run on the basepaths. His presence, though, should provide a boost to the lineup. How much of a boost is the question.
Eli White has been manning right field and batting eighth in the lineup. He will go to a reserve role when Acuña returns.
Acuña will more than likely bat leadoff when he returns, pushing Alex Verdugo down in the order. I’d imagine that the rest of the order would remain the same with Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II behind him.
