About three years ago, Ronald Acuña Jr. seemed well on his way to becoming the new face of MLB. The outfielder of the Braves, who has style who comes out of his ears, had just hit 41 homers and stolen 37 bases, all while maintaining a good line and being solid in center field.
That said, since his terrible knee injury in the summer of 2021, Acuña Jr. seems to have lost a bit of his luster. He was not a bad player last year when he returned, but his knee was clearly bothering him again and he experienced his share of frustrations during the campaign.
The good news, however, is that both in the principal concerned and in the Braves, we feel that the 25-year-old outfielder is starting to regain the hair of the beast and that he is ready to dominate again in 2023.
It’s not particularly surprising to see a player who suffers a major knee injury have a tougher season upon his return. After all, he needs to learn to trust his knee again, and that’s easier said than done. Especially for a guy like Acuña Jr., who relies heavily on his athleticism to shine.
For the Braves, therefore, a healthy (and strong) return of the young outfielder would be excellent news. If he can look like the player he was in 2019, the Braves would come out a lot better.
However, according to Ozzie Albies (his teammate and best friend with the Braves), Acuña Jr. could be even better in 2023 than he was in 2019. Need I remind you that he was close to a 40-40 season then and finished fifth in the Nationals MVP race?
What might also help Acuña Jr. is the fact that the goals will be a little bigger in 2023. So it’ll be a little easier to steal bases, and for a guy who’s an artist in that aspect of the game, it’s something that could help him especially.
Personally, I really hope that we will see Acuña Jr. again among the elite of the league. He’s one of the most electrifying players in MLB when he plays up to his enormous potential, and in a tough division, the Braves will need their star player to be healthy.
And I confess to you that I really want to believe that he will be and that he will once again be the dominant player he was in 2019.
