Addition by subtraction, and a possible prelude to superstardom
It’s hard to get an upside conversation underway without bringing up Ronald Acuna immediately. The now-20-year-old wunderkind took the minor leagues by storm in 2017, improving upon his previous wRC+ with every promotion. After a brief cameo in High-A sporting a 135 wRC+, that number improved to 159 in AA, and then 162 in AAA. Put another way, Acuna was 62% better than the average AAA batter, while being more than half a decade younger than the average AAA age.
Part of the excitement about Ronald Acuna pertains to who he will replace, namely Matt Kemp. The Braves essentially ran a DH out to left field in 2017, and the results weren’t pretty. Ronald Acuna, by contrast, will be an above average defender in CF playing at an outfield corner. When Alex Anthopoulos said his priority was making the Braves better defensively, he addressed that in a significant way by trading Matt Kemp away and making room for Acuna.
When FOX Sports South Atlanta Braves reporter Cory McCartney described Acuna’s live BP session versus Sam Freeman, he said that Acuna crushed two pitches in a row and it looked like he was taking soft toss BP. Time will tell just how successful Acuna will be out of the gates — I’m very bullish on Acuna this season — but he will be, if nothing else, one of the most exciting players in MLB.