In the second inning, after Kevin Pillar hit a two-run house run, Acuña adopted his first-inning stroll with a monstrous two-run blast to proceed the abrupt welcome to The Show for Texas rookie Cody Bradford, who was making his MLB debut.
The MVP candidate crushed an 80.4 mph curveball from Bradford, launching it a Statcast-projected 454 toes into the left-field seats to provide the Braves an early 4-0 lead. It was Acuña’s ninth homer of 2023. He is now on tempo for an MVP-caliber 35 house runs and 67 stolen bases this season.
Acuña now has 17 450-plus-foot homers in his profession (together with the playoffs), trailing C.J. Cron (18) for probably the most within the Majors because the begin of 2018.
“The thing that impresses me the most [about Acuña] so far this year is his work ethic,” stated third-base coach Ron Washington. “He’s really taken care of detail. In the past, he relied more on his talent, but now he’s really paying attention to detail and making sure his body is ready.”
Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna additionally clubbed two-run house runs to provide the Braves 5 general within the sport.
Should Acuña obtain the numbers he’s on tempo for, he would be a part of an illustrious duo of Eric Davis (37 HR, 50 SB in 1987) and Barry Bonds (33 HR, 52 SB in ‘90) as the one gamers in AL/NL historical past to report 30+ house runs and 50+ stolen bases in a single marketing campaign. Even extra, he could be the primary participant with 30+ homers and 60+ stolen bases.
“The biggest key is [Acuña] is healthy,” stated supervisor Brian Snitker. “He’s obtained his legs below him. If he stays wholesome, the numbers are going to be there. He doesn’t must play for numbers. He’s so proficient that if he simply stays wholesome, the numbers are going to return if he performs his sport.”
The sport actually seems to be coming simple for the three-time All-Star. Acuña ranks within the high 5 within the Majors this season in runs (1st, 37), hits (2nd, 55), stolen bases (2nd, 17) and batting common (2nd, .344). He can be just some factors shy of the MLB lead in OPS (1.024) and OBP (.436), rating second in each classes.
“The way he’s playing right now, [Acuña] is worthy of MVP,” stated Washington. “Regardless of what his numbers may be at the end of the year, if [Acuña] continues playing the way he is, he is going to be high on the [MVP] list.”
Acuña’s spectacular begin to the season has already afforded him Player of the Month honors in April and is a big cause the Braves (26-15) sit atop the National League East by six video games.
His spectacular mix of energy and velocity have precipitated nightmares for opposing pitchers, and the dual-threat outfielder has proven little signal of slowing down.
Over his previous 18 video games, Acuña is slashing .323/.430/.662 with 5 multihit performances. He additionally prolonged his hitting streak to 6 together with his thunderous blast on Monday evening.
And if he will increase his house run tempo a bit, Acuña might make a push for the elusive 40-40 membership. He could be simply the fifth participant in AL/NL historical past to report 40+ house runs and 40+ stolen bases in a single season. The 25-year-old completed simply shy of the mark in 2019 with 41 homers and 37 steals.
“[Acuña used to] get by on his talent, but now he’s becoming a gamer,” stated Washington. “Everything that encompasses the game, he’s now starting to get, which is scary [for opposing teams].”
Content Source: www.mlb.com