Ronald Acuña Jr.’s brother shares insights into Braves star’s sublime start

And there you have it. Luisangel Acuña has been witness to his older brother’s baseball expertise for longer than just about anyone and knows the work he has put in to rehabilitate his second ACL tear. Still, even he is taken aback by the elevated plane that his brother, the Braves’ star right fielder, has reached since his return May 23.

In fairness, the reaction is not unreasonable. In his season debut, he became the first player in American League or National League history to hit a leadoff homer in his first at-bat after missing at least 150 games. He also threw out a runner trying to stretch a single into a double. The highlights have continued apace.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

After Thursday’s 7-1 win at Truist Park that swept the Mets out of town, Acuña was hitting .376 with eight home runs and an OPS of 1.184 over his first 24 games.

To put that in context, in Acuña’s history-making NL MVP season in 2023 he never had a 24-game stretch where his OPS hit that peak, according to Stathead.

And, again, he is returning from an injury that kept him off the field for nearly a full year.

“I think all of this has come from the way that he was preparing himself in Florida at their complex,” Luisangel said. “I just think that everything that he’s been able to do and all the successes he’s had, it’s been with all the hard work and preparation that he’s really put in, and he deserves all of it.”

Luisangel had another insight that Braves fans surely will find interesting.

“He’s been putting in a lot more work, and I think what he’s doing is putting a lot more attention and detail in this body on a day-in and day-out basis,” he said. “I always ask him for advice, we always talk baseball, but at this point, it seems like he finally understands everything that he’s able to do. On the field, but also how to preserve his body to stay on the field.”

Aside from his two ACL tears, the 27-year-old Acuña has dealt with a variety of injuries. But he also played 156 games in 2019, 159 in his MVP season in 2023 and 49 of the team’s 50 games at the time of his 2024 ACL tear.

And through awards and numbers, his production speaks for itself. He is one of three players in the game’s history to reach 173 home runs and 197 stolen bases (his career totals) by his age-27 season, according to Stathead, the others being Barry Bonds and Mike Trout.

But if he’s also now incorporating better daily physical maintenance by a significant degree?

Insert raised eyebrows emoji here.

Luisangel got a closer-than-normal look at his brother’s progress this week. In three games against the Mets, his older brother was 2-for-8 but drew six walks. He scored five times. He opened the bottom half of the first inning of Wednesday’s game by waffling Paul Blackburn’s first pitch over the center-field wall, a 419-foot missile.

With his little brother watching from the opposing dugout, Ronald did not let the moment pass without acknowledgment.

“He just looked at me right before he stepped on third,” Luisangel said.

The results aside for Luisangel’s team, it was a memorable week for the family. On Tuesday, when Luisangel entered the game in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement at second base, it became the first MLB game that both Acuña brothers played in after Luisangel made his major league debut in September 2024.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

In that same game, Ronald made one of the plays of the game, going to the right-field wall to rob Pete Alonso of a possible extra-base hit and then doubling up Juan Soto off first.

On Wednesday, the brothers were able to visit at Ronald’s house before the game. A number of family members who live in metro Atlanta were able to attend the games.

“They’re really excited,” Luisangel said. “They’re really proud.”

The two brothers — a third Acuña brother, Bryan, is in the Twins farm system and the fourth, Kenny, also is an aspiring ballplayer — are a long way from going to baseball practice and playing basketball in their hometown of La Savana, Venezuela, a memory Luisangel shared Thursday.

“There wasn’t really much to do,” he said. “(The basketball court) is pretty much where we would end up all the time.”

As for where his brother ends up this season after an astonishing start, the possibilities are far more expansive.