With less than two weeks remaining in spring training, Braves phenom Ronald Acuna continues not just to live up to the hype and soaring expectations, but to actually surpass them.
The 20-year-old outfield prospect hit his second home run Tuesday, a long drive off Blue Jays ace Aaron Sanchez at Champion Stadium. He was second in the majors in batting average (.412) and second in on-base percentage (.512) in 34 at-bats over 13 games, leading the Grapefruit League in both categories.
“I think he’s the top-rated prospect in baseball, if I’m not mistaken, isn’t he?” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said when asked about Acuna’s homer. “Doing that shows you why. ... It was right-center field. One thing about (Sanchez) is he’s going to come at you. You’d better be ready to hit. You turn around that fastball, hit it where he did, that distance. ...
“(Acuna) is put together pretty good, but he’s not a monster. He plays center field. Great athlete. I know the Braves and (general manager) Alex (Anthopoulos) are pretty excited to have him.”
It was the first home run off Sanchez in 11 innings this spring. The right-hander missed most of last season with finger ligament damage and blisters, but in his All-Star season in 2016, Sanchez gave up only four homers to right-handed hitters. He was 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA and finished seventh in the American League Cy Young Award balloting that season.
Acuna was ninth in the majors in OPS (1.130) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (four) before the completion of Tuesday’s late games.
NOTES: Braves third baseman Johan Camargo left with back tightness during the Braves' 13-6 loss to the Blue Jays. Braves manager Brian Snitker indicated it wasn't anything serious but that he would give Camargo a rest day Wednesday. ...
The Braves were 16-for-16 in stolen bases this spring before Ozzie Albies was thrown out trying to steal second base in the first inning. They had been the only team in the majors without a caught-stealing. ...
Freddie Freeman was 3-for-3 with his first home run of spring, and Kurt Suzuki was 2-for-3 to raise his average to .500 (8-for-16).
