As always before each season, MLB Network released their top 100 players in the league, with Ronald Acuña Jr. taking a notable step back after his second torn ACL. The Braves star right fielder, who entered the 2024 campaign ranked first, came in at #16 on the list. A considerable drop, but is it a fair one?
The Top 100 Players Entering 2025! #Top100RightNow pic.twitter.com/rOgm7YSUj5
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 14, 2025
My initial gut reaction is fair. Those are 15 fantastic players in front of Ronald Acuña Jr., and we do have to be somewhat realistic about the hill he’s climbing entering the season. Not only is he expected to miss at least a month, but this is also his second ACL injury, and it’s not like he came back looking like a star his first time around, finishing with career lows across the board in 2022.
Of course, that experience could be both a blessing and a curse. There’s a reasonable scenario where the first experience helped Acuña learn his body, how to recover, and when to come back, allowing him to hit the ground running when he returns. There’s also a scenario where the sheer number of injuries he’s dealt with begins to mount, and regression follows.
When healthy, there aren’t five better baseball players than Ronald Acuña Jr. He belongs in the same category as Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, a small group of guys that can challenge history before the start of every season.
However, there’s also the elephant in the room. Injury concerns are not just a threat to Acuña’s performance this year, but his entire career. He’s dealt with a plethora of issues since making his MLB debut back in 2018, including two season-ending surgeries. There’s no guarantee Acuña will come back and perform like he did in 2023, but if he does, it should only further his place among the greatest players to ever step foot on a baseball diamond.
