Ronald Acuna’s spring slash line -- .432/.519/.727. No, spring training stats don’t mean much, and yes, Acuna is 20, which means his chance will come very soon. Still, the news that the Braves have reassigned him to minor-league camp, which means he won’t make the team’s opening day roster, is slightly disappointing.
It’s no great surprise. There was always a chance this would happen. For planning purposes, teams try to wait to start their best prospects’ major-league clock. The Cubs did it with Kris Bryant in 2015, and it didn’t exactly stunt his growth. He still wound up being the National League rookie of the year; in 2016 he was the MVP.
If Acuna isn’t on the 25-man roster before April 13, the Braves will gain a year of contractual control. For a player of this caliber, that’s a big deal.
The Braves, you’ll recall, handled Jason Heyward differently. Like Acuna, he was the sport’s No. 1 prospect. Like Acuna, he was 20. The Braves put him on the opening day roster in 2010, and he hit a three-run homer off Carlos Zambrano that first game. But that was then. Frank Wren was the general manager, Bobby Cox the manager. The names and faces have changed.
In the grand scheme, not having Acuna for month or so won’t mean much of anything. Whenever his moment of arrival, he figures to stick around. He is, as you’ve heard, a massive talent. And sometimes waiting can be beneficial. As a case study, there’s Dansby Swanson.
Revisionist history suggests that the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft wasn’t ready to be the everyday shortstop, although his numbers after his call-up in August 2016 sure as heck left a different impression. Swanson’s first full big-league season wasn’t anything approaching that partial season, but would Year 2 have automatically been better had it been Year 1 instead? (Short answer: That’s unknowable.)
Two things we do know about Acuna: First, that nothing he has done this spring indicates he can’t handle whatever comes his way; second, that nobody who starts for the Braves on opening day will be as gifted as the guy who hasn’t yet made the roster. He’ll be along shortly, though.
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