SAN DIEGO – Braves outfield prospect Ronald Acuna and pitching prospect Mike Soroka have been selected to play in the July 9 All-Star Futures Game at Miami.
Both are only 19 and will play for the World team against the U.S. team in the Future game, which annually features many of baseball’s highest rated young prospects.
Acuna has hit .309 with 27 extra-base hits (six triples, eight home runs), a .361 on-base percentage and 30 stolen bases in 72 games this season between stops at high-A Florida and Double-A Mississippi, which notably includes better marks at the higher classification where he’s at least two or three years younger than most of those he’s competing against.
The dynamic Venezuelan has hit .324 with five homers, a .378 OBP and 16 stolen bases in 44 games in Double-A, where he’s moved between all three outfield positions including 25 starts in center field. Acuna doesn’t turn 20 until December and is the third-youngest player selected to play in this year’s Futures Game.
Soroka, a Braves first-round draft pick in 2015, is 9-3 with a 2.72 ERA and 0.992 WHIP in 14 starts at Mississippi, where he’s one of the youngest starting pitchers in Double-A and has been at that level all season. The 6-foot-5 Canadian has 71 strikeouts and 17 walks in 82 2/3 innings, and his 65 hits allowed includes just five home runs.
The World team’s coaching staff also has former Braves Edgar Renteria as manager and Livan Hernandez as pitching coach.
In other Braves prospect news, Gwinnett second baseman Ozzie Albies and pitcher Lucas Sims have been selected to play in the Triple-A All-Star game.
