Ronald Acuña Jr. is forcing his way into the conversation for starting the All-Star Game in Atlanta in a few weeks. In the most recent voting update, the Atlanta Braves outfielder has amassed 1,140,061 votes, putting him in fourth place among National League outfielders. He’s fewer than 80,000 votes behind Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker.
The sample sizes doesn’t matter to the fans. He’s playing out of his mind, and he’s turning heads. He’s nearly doubled his votes in a week. When the first voting update came out a week ago, he was sixth in the voting for outfielders with 596,363 votes,
“The fact that Acuña is in fourth place despite making his season debut in late May speaks volumes about just how hot he’s been in the batter’s box,” MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa wrote.
Acuña is currently the only Braves player who is in the top five in voting at his respective position. Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna are both in sixth place in the voting at their positions (third base and designated hitter).
Entering the four-game series with the Mets on Monday, Acuña is batting .396 with a 1.202 OPS, a 231 OPS+, eight home runs and 15 RBIs. He’s reached base in over half of his plate appearances so far.
His fun, freestyle of play is on full display, and the fans have begun their push to see it in the early innings of the Midsummer Classic. Acuña is seeking his fifth nod to the All-Star roster. The Braves’ star right fielder has been a starter in the All-Star Game three times (2019, 2021, 2023).
The first round of voting runs through June 26. This is the phase that helps top players advance to the second phase of voting that decides the starters.
The All-Star Game will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 15. Players are scheduled to take the field at 8 p.m. – first pitch would follow some time after at an unspecified time.
