Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acuna will be a Fantasy Baseball asset immediately

The Atlanta Braves will call up star prospect Ronald Acuna. He’s going to make that team better in the real world, but what kind of impact can he make on your Fantasy Baseball team?

With the news that top prospect Ronald Acuna Jr. is getting being promoted to the Atlanta Braves, the baseball world is abuzz. In some cases, too much so. There is plenty being written about his real world potential and the impact he’ll make on the surprisingly competitive Atlanta Braves, but here we’ll talk about his Fantasy Baseball impact.

Let’s start by getting the obvious out of the way. He should be rostered in every format except AL-only. And I’m tempted to make a joke about rostering him there anyway.

He’s going to be worthy of having on your team no matter what stats you score or your league type; roto, points, H2H, whatever. He’s a true five-tool player with a high floor because of the variety of ways in which he can contribute.

Go get him if you can.

So pick him up if he’s somehow still available in your respective Fantasy Baseball leagues. He’s 80% owned in Yahoo leagues as I write this. 81% in ESPN, 97% in CBS, 97% in Fantrax. Now that we’ve covered the obvious, exactly what can we expect from the phenom 20-year-old Atlanta Braves outfielder?

Ronald Acuna charged through the three highest levels of minor league ball in 2017 accumulating a combined 21 HR, 44 SB, 82 RBIs and a .325/..374/.522 triple slash. That doesn’t include 7 HR and 16 RBI in 23 games at the Arizona Fall League.

At his peak, he will be a monster Fantasy Baseball player hitting for AVG, HR, and RBIs with plenty of R and SB. He won’t be at his peak this year, however. That means while his long-term value in keeper and dynasty formats is likely near the top of the league, in redrafts it’s a little more complicated.

A slow start.

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

Ronald Acuna opened the 2018 season in the Atlanta Braves Triple-A system and struggled mightily. Benjamin Chase recently wrote about those struggles, as well as the apparent fix for his ills.

As Chase points out, following an April 15 rain-out, he came into the next series looking much more like the guy who ascended through the upper minors in 2017 and has hit .306/.405/.417 since.

Where does that leave him for the rest of the season? Well, teams don’t promote arguably the top prospect in the game to play sporadically.

Ronald Acuna will be an everyday fixture in the Atlanta Braves outfield so he will have plenty of opportunities to amass stats. Will he approach his combined 2017 line? No, not likely. But he could provide 15 HR, 20 SB and a solid AVG in the .260-.280 range this year.

Where does he fit in?

He’s not going to light the world on fire as a rookie. Though he may well end up as the NL Rookie of the Year by the time the calendar flips to October. What he will do, however, is give your team a solid contributor who may have some hot streaks along the way. If you have a hole in the outfield and can plug him in, he will fill it nicely.

Next: Red Sox affiliate embracing inner Star Wars

If you can add Ronald Acuna to your bench, he’ll make for a fantastic 4th outfielder. In deeper leagues, he should be worth starting right off the bat. In 10-12 team leagues, it will depend on your roster composition. No matter what, he should not be allowed to sit on the waiver wire or in the free agent pool for a moment longer.

Put in your Fantasy Baseball claim for the Atlanta Braves future star. Now.