Braves star prospect Acuna named IL Player of The Month
The list of Ronald Acuna accomplishments continues to grow.
The Braves’ uber-outfielder prospect was named the International League Player of the Month for August. He’s the first Gwinnett player to win the monthly honor since outfielder Mallex Smith in 2015.
Acuna, 19, is the youngest player in Triple-A. He’s in his third season of professional baseball, and first playing above the Class-A level.
Acuna hit .364 with a league-best 47 hits, 24 runs scored and 20 RBIs in August. Thirteen of his hits went for extra bases, including four homers. He additionally stole seven bases. Acuna won IL Player of the Week for his performance from Aug. 14-20, when he hit three homers with eight RBIs on a six-game road trip.
The Braves signed Acuna for $100,000 as an international free agent from Venzuela in 2014. He was sidelined with Single-A Rome from mid-May to mid-August in 2016 with a broken thumb, but caught up quickly this season, ascending from Class-A to Triple-A in a matter of months.
Baseball America ranked Acuna the Braves’ sixth best prospect before the season. He jumped to No. 1 in the midseason rankings. Since his promotion to Gwinnett, Acuna has hit .343 and leads the league in hits, runs scored, extra-base hits and total bases.
Despite Acuna's brilliance, he wasn't among the Braves' initial September callups, when the major-league roster expands from 25 to 40. Barring an unexpected change of course, Acuna won't join the major-league team this season, for a myriad of reasons the AJC reported Thursday.
Acuna is expected to compete for a corner outfield spot on the 2018 Opening Day roster. Gwinnett’s season concludes Monday.
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
