PHOENIX – Ronald Acuña Jr. on Saturday launched a baseball that ended up among the fans in the concourse beyond the left-center field seats.
“I mean, that ball (Saturday) night was stupid,” Matt Olson said.
The craziest part: This 464-foot blast, majestic as it may have been, was nothing new for Acuña. He does this stuff regularly.
He might be baseball’s most exciting player.
Here’s a look at Acuña, by the numbers:
420
Acuña’s last 10 home runs have all traveled at least 420 feet, dating to a 438-foot homer in Kansas City on April 14.
According to MLB, Acuña’s 10 consecutive home runs of at least 420 feet is the longest such streak since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
Oh, and about the one that traveled 464 feet on Saturday?
It became Acuña’s 10th home run of at least 460 feet since he debuted in 2018 – the most in baseball over that span.
.971
OPS – on-base plus slugging – is one way to measure overall offensive impact by taking into account a hitter’s ability to get on base with the total bases he racks up throughout a season.
Acuña’s .971 OPS leads the National League and ranks third in baseball.
“When he’s clicking, he’s a five-tool player and it’s hard to stop him,” Spencer Strider said on Saturday. “He’s one of the powerhouses of the offense, and of the team.”
The reigning NL MVP, Paul Goldschmidt, had a .342 batting average and a 1.037 OPS after play on June 4 last season.
In 2021, Bryce Harper posted a .275 batting average and an .890 OPS over his first 59 games. He went on a tear in the second half to win NL MVP.
In 2019 ( 2020 was a weird season), Cody Bellinger had a .374 batting average and a 1.194 OPS after play on June 4.
12 and 26
Acuña has 12 home runs and 26 stolen bases.
There’s a lot of season left, but want to think about something fun?
Since 1900, only one player has hit at least 35 homers while stealing 50 bases in a single season: Eric Davis in 1987.
Davis blasted 37 homers and swiped 50 bags that season.
.333 and .990
For as talented of a lineup as the Braves have, they’ve struggled with runners in scoring position this season.
Their .221 batting average in those spots ranks 27th out of 30 teams. Their .691 OPS ranks 25th.
Acuña has been a bright spot in this area. He’s hitting .333 with a .990 OPS with runners in scoring position.
Among Braves players with enough at-bats in these spots to qualify, Acuña’s average ranks first on the team. His OPS is second.
107
Entering Sunday, Acuña had 107 hard-hit balls, the most in the majors.
A hard-hit ball is defined by Statcast as one with an exit velocity of at least 95 mph.
Acuña’s 95.1 mph average exit velocity, before Sunday’s game, ranked in the 100th percentile in the sport. (There are others with higher marks, but some of those players don’t have as many at-bats.)
54.9
Before Sunday’s win, Acuña had a 54.9% hard-hit rate, which ranked in the 96th percentile in baseball.
Put simply, hard-hit rate is the amount of balls hit at 95 mph or more.
So, the majority of balls Acuña is hitting are classified as hard-hit balls.
