Ronald Acuna’s bat has gone from hot to hotter as spring training has worn on, putting the Braves’ premier prospect near the top of almost every major statistical category among all players in either the Cactus or Grapefruit leagues.
Acuna had three hits Sunday after homering in each of his three previous games, and entered Monday ranked second in the majors in average (.432), on-base percentage (.519), slugging percentage (.727) and OPS (1.392). He led the Grapefruit League in each of those categories.
The 20-year-old phenom was tied for second in the majors in hits (19) and tied for first in the Grapefruit League in homers with four, one behind the major league leaders before Monday.
Acuna, the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball, has been arguably the best all-around player in the Grapefruit League this spring and doesn’t appear to need any more minor-league seasoning in any aspect of his game, offensively or defensively. However, the Braves could opt to keep him in the minors for at least the first 2½ weeks of the season in order to assure an extra full season of contractual control before free agency.
