| Ronald Acuña Jr. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Acuña in 2018 | |||
| Atlanta Braves – No. 13 | |||
| Outfielder | |||
| Born: December 18, 1997 La Guaira, Venezuela | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 25, 2018, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| MLB statistics (through September 27, 2018) | |||
| Batting average | .290 | ||
| Home runs | 26 | ||
| Runs batted in | 61 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Ronald José Acuña Blanco Jr. (born December 18, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018.
On April 25, 2018, the Braves promoted Acuña to the major leagues.[20] He became the youngest player in Major League Baseball upon his promotion,[21] claiming the distinction from teammate Ozzie Albies.[22] Though Acuña wore uniform number 24 throughout his minor league career in honor of Miguel Cabrera,[23] he made his major league debut on April 25, 2018, wearing number 13.[24] Against the Cincinnati Reds, Acuña collected his first career hit off of Kevin Shackelford. He finished the game 1 for 5 and scored the game tying run in the eighth inning as the Braves won 5–4.[25] The next day, also against the Reds, Acuña hit his first major league home run off of Homer Bailey. He finished the game 3 for 4 as the Braves won 7–4.[26] On May 28, Acuña was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a mild ACL sprain and a bruise in his left knee as well as back contusion.[27] On June 21, the Braves optioned Acuña to Triple-A Gwinnett for a rehab assignment.[28]
Acuña regularly hit in the leadoff spot in the lineup after the All-Star break.[29] His performance improved markedly as he implemented an adjustment to his batting stance at the suggestion of Kevin Seitzer.[30] While playing against the Miami Marlins on August 13, 2018, Acuña became the fourth player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit a home run in both games of a doubleheader.[31] Additionally, he had hit a home run in his last four games, becoming the youngest player since 1920 to accomplish the feat.[32] By hitting a home run off of Trevor Richards on August 14, Acuña became the youngest major leaguer ever to hit home runs in five consecutive games, as well as the fifth batter in Atlanta Braves history to do so.[33][34] Facing Adam Conley later that same game, Acuña hit his second home run of the night, marking the first time he had ever hit more than one home run in a game.[35]
In the finale of the Braves' series against the Marlins on August 15, Acuña faced José Ureña, who hit him with the first pitch of the game. Ureña was ejected from the game, while Acuña was replaced in the field at the top of the second inning.[36] Acuña played the Braves' next game against the Colorado Rockies on August 16.[37]When Acuña next played the Marlins on August 23, he hit another home run, and was subsequently struck by another pitch.[38] His production during the month of August won him the Major League Baseball Rookie of the Month Award.[39] On September 2, Acuña hit his seventh leadoff home run, tying a Braves team record, set by Marquis Grissom, for such home runs in a season.[40] Three days later, Acuña broke the team's leadoff home run record in a game against the Boston Red Sox.[41]With his 25th home run on September 9, Acuña became the seventh player in MLB history to hit that many home runs while under the age of 21.[42] Later that month, it was announced that Acuña would be playing in the MLB Japan All-Star Series scheduled for November.[43] With his fifteenth stolen base on September 22, 2018, Acuña became the fourth player in MLB history to record a 25–15 season, while aged 20 or below, alongside Alex Rodriguez, Orlando Cepeda, and Mike Trout.