The Ronald Acuna tour has left seemingly everyone in its path impressed. The latest such impression was made on his new teammate, shortstop Dansby Swanson.
Swanson, formerly the Braves’ top prospect, has had a firsthand look at Acuna, the Braves’ new No. 1 prospect. The outfielder is hitting .325 with four homers and 10 RBIs in Gwinnett.
“He’s really good,” Swanson said. “It’s pretty amazing. I think just the skillset that he has is tremendous. There’s guys who are good, and guys who get everything out of what they’ve got, then there’s guys like Acuna that can do it all and make it look really, really easy when they do it.”
Swanson was demoted to Triple-A on July 27 after hitting .213 in the majors. Acuna had four hits July 29, a triple short of the cycle, in Swanson's second game with Gwinnett. He had three hits Tuesday night.
“Makes you feel bad about yourself,” Swanson said with a laugh. “Every time he does something we just shake our heads because it’s not surprising that he’s able to do these kinds of things. He’s impressive and he’s a great kid, too. So I love being around him and watching him play.”
Acuna leads the Braves' system in average (.315) and steals (35, though just two have been in Triple-A). He's second in homers (16) and tied for second in RBIs (59).
He was promoted to Gwinnett on July 13 after hitting .326 in 57 games with Double-A Mississippi. After starting the season unranked in MLB’s top 100 prospects, he’s currently listed at No. 8.
“It’s just cool to be able to see guys like that,” Swanson said. “Especially in this setting, that you can just learn from being around them. So he’s awesome to have around, and it’s awesome to be able to think about the future.”
Former G-Braves starter Lucas Sims and second baseman Ozzie Albies graduated the system, making their major league debuts Tuesday. As the Braves' rebuild starts to bear fruit, Swanson said he hasn't been bothered with teammate questions about playing in the majors.
“This team does a great job of being where we are, staying in the moment,” he said. “And I think that that’s such a precious thing to have on a team. People just come out here and they want to have fun and enjoy it, enjoy being around each other and playing the game that we all love. So that’s been a big refresher, being able to be around those guys like that. It’s something that’s made me better as well.”
Swanson was excited for Sims and Albies. Sims pitched six innings, allowing three runs. Albies went 0-for-2, but scored a run.
“I told them just enjoy it,” he said. “There’ll be a lot of stuff, it’ll be hectic and everything, but you still have to play. It’s still fun, it’s still the same game, there’s just a few more people in the stands. The intensity’s heightened a little bit, but it’s still the same game. I just told them to enjoy every bit of it.”
