Why Pick Ronald Acuña Jr For Your Daily Fantasy MLB Team
Born and raised in La Guaira, Venezuela, Ronald Acuña Jr. is still one of the youngest players in the major leagues. Acuña’s family and relatives played in both Minor and Major Baseball League, influencing him during his youth.
There is no doubt that this young protege will emerge one day to showcase his athleticism and surprise the world of baseball. Now, this young native Venezuelan is recognized as one of the best players in baseball and this very website sells Acuna Matata shirts.
If you might be thinking of picking him for your daily fantasy team, you are making the right choice. Get to know more of Ronald Acuña Jr and find out how picking him for your team is a good choice.
Ronald Acuña Jr In The Minor Leagues
At a very young age, Acuña started his baseball career in the minor leagues as he signed up for Atlanta Braves as an international free agent in 2014. His professional debut started in 2015 with the Gulf Coast Braves and he was promoted to Danville Braves that same season. Acuña showed off his playing style and ended the season with 55 games batting at .269, stole 16 bases, and hit four home runs, and 18 RBIs.
With his exemplary statistics, there’s no doubt that Acuña aced his minor league career. Just 6 months before his Major League debut, Acuña was awarded the MVP for Arizona Fall League. Th youngest winner of that award, he played in 23 games, where he batted .325/.414/.639, with seven home runs —and he even helped the Peoria Javelinas hoist a championship trophy.
Signing Up For The Major League
A year later, in 2018, the Atlanta Braves officially brought him up, making him the youngest player in the majors at his debut. His first season included injuries and troubles, but Acuña still proved that his talent plays at the Major League level. Acuña earned awards. He brought home a Rookie of the Month Award and beat out Juan Soto for the National League Rookie of the Year. He was even invited to play in the MLB Japan All-Star Series after he made history for being the seventh player in MLB history to hit 25 home runs in a season while under the age of 21.
His batting technique shifted in that rookie year (as Sean Morash covered here), marking him to be one of the industry’s best hitters. It’s not surprising that many experts and sportswriters always include his name in their MLB DFS prospective team lineup.
Career History Highlights
Ronald Acuña Jr has cemented his position in the baseball industry as both a fan and expert favorite. His career highlights are full, even after just 2+ years in the Majors. He joined the exclusive 30-30 club as its second-youngest player in 2019, nearly joining the 40-40 club. He finished the year with 41 homers and 37 steals.
According to Sean Casey, his batting style is comparable to Roberto Clemente of Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente won the World Series champion twice and was recognized four times as the NL batting champion.
Atlanta Braves And Acuña Glory Days
From the year Acuña signed up for Atlanta Braves in the minor league to the moment he was officially called up to play in the majors, Atlanta Braves have highly benefited from Acuña’s potential even at his young age. Before the 2019 season, the Braves signed him up for another eight-year extension with a price tag of $100 million.
Acuña is definitely on the verge of reaching the exclusive 40-40 club as he is already on the move to pursue such a milestone. Moreover, Acuña’s second year in the major league with the Braves was maybe just a hint at what he could do. Before this season was interupted by the global pandemic, Acuña spoke of potentially going 50-50.
Now that the season has resumed, Acuña is doing special things, again. He currently leads baseball with a 184 OPS+, having smashed 11 homers in 134 plate appearances (31 games) that would put him on a 57 homer pace over a full season. He’s also stolen 5 bases, which would put him on pace for 26 steals over a full season. The most steals ever for a 50 homer season is Alex Rodriguez’s 24 in 2007. If we remove steroid era players (Sorry Ken Griffey Jr), the most ever is 9 by Aaron Judge in 2017. The point here is that Acuna’s combination of power and speed is very rare and very exciting.
Takeaway
Ronald Acuña Jr is proof that age is just a number even in the world of professional baseball. He has proven for years now, season every season, that he is special His records and statistics are solid proof that he is one of the best baseball players in his era. With the season going, we will see more of his greatness on the field. Acuña is still young, and he is bound for more great things when it comes to his career. His fans are looking forward to it.