So, is it secure to say he’s feeling 100%?
“No, no, I’m feeling 200 p.c,” Acuña stated.
Yeah, that’s a non-existent worth. However no person thought a 40-homer, 70-steal season would ever exist earlier than Acuña produced one in 2023. So, he has some artistic license relating to numbers.
So, what must be anticipated this yr?
“Ronald appears nice,” Braves supervisor Walt Weiss stated. “Mentally and emotionally, he is in a very good place. He’s missed a while the previous few years. Everyone knows he’s a Corridor of Fame expertise. However you’ve obtained to do it for some time, and he is definitely able to doing that. He is like a bull that is prepared for the door to open.”
Acuña definitely burst again on the scene final yr. He homered on the primary pitch he noticed throughout his Could 23 season debut and was elected to the All-Star Sport for the fifth time regardless of lacking many of the season’s first two months. However his offensive manufacturing dipped after he suffered a proper calf pressure close to the tip of July. The energetic and aggressive outfielder was additionally much more cautious on the bases than previously, as he totaled simply 10 stolen-base makes an attempt over 95 video games.
However one other season faraway from that second main knee surgical procedure, Acuña appears able to show his offensive worth nonetheless far exceeds his large energy. He enhanced confidence within the power of his legs as he stole 11 bases over 16 video games within the Venezuelan Winter League.
“I wished to [test] my legs and really feel that my knee was snug,” Acuña stated. “That’s what I did and I really feel nice.”
What would possibly a wholesome Acuña do?
Nicely, the 28-year-old veteran has performed 150-plus video games simply twice since debuting in 2018. Here’s what he did these years:
2019: 41 HRs, 37 SBs, .883 OPS, 156 video games
2023: 41 HRs, 73 SBs, 1.012 OPS, 159 video games
With no second ACL tear, it wouldn’t have been unrealistic to assume Acuña might bid for an additional season with 70-plus steals. However with stolen-base guru Antoan Richardson now serving because the Braves’ first-base coach, is Acuña bodily able to trying to grow to be the primary participant with two 40-40 seasons?
“I do not learn about 40-40,” Acuña stated. “However I simply need to do my finest to assist my group win loads of video games and make the playoffs.”
