He can’t get back soon enough after only appearing in 49 games last year. Acuña was the National League Most Valuable Player in 2023 and had one of the best offensive seasons in recent memory. He finished the year with 41 home runs, 106 RBIs, stealing 73 bases, and slashing .337/.416/.596 in 159 games played.
You can’t ask for much more out of a player. Whenever he gets back, he will help.
Even after missing so much time, ESPN still ranked him as the No. 20 player in baseball for the 2025 season and David Schoenfield shared a bold prediction for him.
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“No. 20. Ronald Acuña Jr., RF, Atlanta Braves,” Schoenfield said. “Acuña was one of the more difficult players to rate on this list. He probably won’t return until May as he recovers from his second torn ACL, which ended his 2024 season after 49 games — a season in which he was hitting nowhere near his unanimous MVP level of 2023, when he hit .337 with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases. The issue before the injury: After lowering his strikeout rate in 2023 to just 11.4 percent, it was back up to his career norm of 23.9 percent.
“Acuna has a lot to prove, not just that he’ll be healthy but that 2023 wasn’t his career year. Season prediction: Acuña slugged just .413 in 2022 (after returning from his first torn ACL) and just .365 last season, but he finds his power stroke and slugs over .500 — and steals 25 bases.”
The Braves need him and if he can live up to this prediction they will eventually be just fine.
