January 24, 2018

A teenager that played in all three levels last season, finishing with Triple-A Gwinnett, Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna will likely be the starting right fielder for the 2018 Braves. As an 18-year-old, Acuna had a strong 2016 season where he batted .312 in 42 games before capping the season with a .375 batting average in Australia. He truly broke out with a .325 batting average, 21 home runs and 44 stolen bases last season. Acuna had 60 extra-base hits in 138 games in a season that started with High-A Florida and ended with a .940 OPS in 54 games with Gwinnett. He was caught stealing 20 times last season, so he does have something to learn as a stolen base threat, but his 1.053 OPS and seven home runs in the Arizona Fall League were enough to make him the league's MVP. If there is something to critique about Acuna's 2017 season, other than him being caught stealing too much, it is the fact that his ground ball rate jumped as he moved up in the Braves' system. While a 43.8% ground ball rate is not good (that was his rate in 54 games with Triple-A Gwinnett) , Acuna is fast enough to leg out enough hits to keep his BABIP at a good rate. The fact that his BABIP was at or above .400 at each level in 2017 is not good, but the speedy Acuna will fill in many categories and could be a 20/20 player as a rookie. He should be drafted in the 10th round safely and has OF3 upside.--Chris Zolli