The Atlanta Braves failed to win their second series since the All Star break after blowing a late lead to the Seattle Mariners Wednesday night. The season has gone from promising to a what feels to be a tryout for prospects.
This leaves one major question for the front office, and that is, do they give their current number one prospect Ronald Acuna a look before the 2017 season concludes?
While some of Braves Country insist it’s too early to give 19-year-old Acuna a shot, I am on the other side of the argument saying give the kid a chance. You know why?
When was the last time a single player went through every class of minor league baseball in one season, and played better at each level? Andruw Jones. But in all seriousness Acuna is something the likes of which the Braves have not seen in their farm system since the 90’s.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
When Acuna was given the call to play A ball to begin the year he played only 28 games, but it’s what he did in those 28 games that matter. In 115 at-bats, Acuna averaged .287 at the plate with 19 RBI. A 19 year old from La Guaira, Venezuela put up numbers that players spend years trying to reach.
After seeing the youngster play so well, the Braves decided to give Acuna a call up to the Double-A Mississippi Braves, and guess what? He played even better. In 57 games he managed to get 221 at-bats with a .326 average and 30 RBI.
Finally, the Braves gave Acuna the call to come up to Triple-A Gwinnett, and yes, you guessed it, he played even better than in Mississippi. In the 40 games Acuna has resided in Gwinnett County he has a .355 batting average with 8 home runs and 25 RBI, and currently has the Gwinnett Braves in the playoff hunt.
With only a few games remaining in the month of August the Atlanta Braves currently sit 13 games below .500 at 56-69 on the year. The month of September is one that the front office not only needs to utilize, but also use as their guinea pig. As it stands the Braves have one of the youngest but most exciting infields in the majors, even with their record. With Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, and the return of Johan Camargo the Braves will have a great unit to try out to end the inaugural season at SunTrust Park.
As for the outfield, it is a puzzle that still requires pieces to be filled. Ender Inciarte is the center of the outfield, but with two veterans in Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis there is some work to be done. Both players are on the back-end of their respective careers, which is why none other than Ronald Acuna deserves a shot to come and test the bright lights of SunTrust Park.
Guys, the Braves have all but given up on the rest of the year, and if you don’t remember last season, the front office used the end of August and September as a tryout period in which none other than Dansby Swanson was given his time to shine.
Next: Pujols on track for a terrible 100 RBI season
Is Acuna young? Yes. Does he have the ability and skillset to come in and immediately make an impact? Quite possible. Is he overrated? Well folks, I guess we’re going to have to wait and see.
What do you guys think? Comment below on whether or not Acuna should be called up before the end of the season.