Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna suffered a mild ACL sprain in his left knee and a lower back contusion on Sunday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. The team will place Acuna on the disabled list and then re-evaluate him after the 10-day window.
Acuna exited the Braves’ win over the Red Sox on Sunday with what looked to be a potentially catastrophic injury (video here), but it appears he’ll escape disaster. Given how dire the situation looked Sunday, Bowman notes that this could be a best-case scenario for Acuna and the Braves.
The 20-year-old Acuna is only a little more than a month into his major league career, having joined the Braves with great fanfare on April 25. The all-world prospect justified the hype before landing on the DL, slashing .265/.326/.453 with five home runs in 129 plate appearances. He has also posted a .364 xwOBA, per Statcast, suggesting his actual wOBA (.332) has been a bit on the unlucky side.
While Acuna may not miss significant time, it’s still unfortunate for the Braves that they’ll have to go without one of their key near- and long-term pieces for at least the next couple weeks. Atlanta, thanks in part to Acuna and many other highly talented 20-somethings, owns the National League’s second-best record (30-21) and a half-game lead in the NL East. They’ll turn a starting outfield spot back to Preston Tucker, who occupied one alongside Ender Inciarte and Nick Markakis prior to Acuna’s promotion (depth chart).
It could have been so much worse. See you in 10 days Acuna!
Doesn’t mean he’ll be back in 10 days….just the minimum
You’ve heard it here first he will miss at least 20 to 25
Fake news. He was running this morning and lobbying to play in the night game.
It’s a miracle! My lower leg would’ve needed amputation, lol.
Flexibility can prevent a lot of injuries. That looked nasty
The wonders of being young.
First and for most glad he is okay, that looked worst than bryce harpers knee… but to say he has justified the hype, hitting .265?? Dude was suppose to be trout 2.0, so far has a big loopy swing and strikes out far too much.
he’s 20 years old and has played pretty damn good so far…
Umm…trout debuted in his age-20 season. Here is his line.
.220/.281/.390, 40 g, 123 AB, 20 r, 27 h, 6 2B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 9:30 BB:K, 4/4 SB.
Acuna’s:
.265/.326/.453, 29 G, 117 AB, 19 R, 31 H, 7 2B, 5 HR, 13 RBI’s, 10:37 BB:K, 2/3 SB.
How is he not delivering?
Your season age is determined by when you turn that age. If your birthday is before June 30th then that is considered your —- age season.
Trout debuted July 8th in his age 19 season.
In his age 20 season in 2012 he hit .326/.399/.564/.963 with 30 HR and 49 SB.
You guys are splitting hairs…..
Trout’s 1st trip to MLB was horrible (especially because of what we know happened after that)
Acuna’s 1st trip to MLB has been “at least as productive”.
I don’t think anyone who is of sound mind & body, would be willing to unequivocally state whether Acuna will be as good as Trout…..and especially not commit to him being “better than Trout”.
It’s fair to say that their first 120 AB’s are similar.
This was my point that Braves homer crybabies downvoted even though I literally started my post with “I love Acuna…”:
Acuna is playing just ok while doing the odd amazing thing, and yes he’s 20 and will hit that superstar ceiling, but as of now, he has 0.3 fWAR in 29 games, thats 1.6 WAR over 162 and not that big a loss to their 2018 chances. Tucker can do that too. Jeez, you know you ARE allowed to be critical of players on your own team yknow? Homers are absolute worst and Acuna is going to be a joy to watch for many years, but calm down about him in 2018.
LOL….so many “die-hard fans” just don’t seem to be able to be critical of anyone on their team…..It’s So Ridiculous. I know Cards Fans are like that a lot.
Expectations are extremely high for Acuna, and only “some of us” can temper those expectations during his 1st 200 games…..LOL
He looks like he’s a very talented guy…..and over time, he will sharpen his skills and feel more comfortable each and every day. Until then…..we should just relax and hope the kid heals perfectly and we get to see him on the field again this season.
He’s been up for less than a month…your name tag says it all.
Just a quick look at br. I would say he is doing pretty good compared to trouts first 130 PAs
Trout was 19 first call up. Age 20 season same as acuna 325 30 hrs and 49 sbs. If anything ozzie albies has exceeded his already lofty expectations.
Again just glancing at BR trout made his debut a month before his 20th bday. Acuna a few months after his.
How about we all cool it with the Trout comparisons for every hot prospect/rookie? Players like Trout come along once every 25 years or so. If you’re expecting anyone to be as good as Trout you will almost surely be disappointed.
iclueless go back and look at Trouts and Judges first call ups.
Yeah. You are a great guy you can get it for you and you guys have fun at work
astick…..huh?!
He is a troll. Predictive text. Worse than the bots.
You’re wrong, dude. So damn wrong.
You’re an idiot!
Name ONE article where it ever said Acuna would be Trout 2.0. And do you not remember Trout hit less than .230 in his debut season. So let’s go ahead and find that article, we’ll all wait and great job on making the most idiotic statement of all time on here. How’d you do in the majors as a 20 y/o?? We’ll wait for that one too
Not saying pushing the panic button, but they could be justified promoting Riley and moving Camargo back to IF/OF utility with Tucker while Acuña is mending. Could give Riley a taste of the big leagues in prep for Sept call ups and not be so dependent on a .200 hitter (Camargo) and descending bat in Tucker.
I like that idea. Gives an energy boost to the team and gives the team a look to see what they have in Riley at the big league level. If he isn’t ready, then they can make a move for a 3B if they remain in the hunt next month.
As Tucker just misplayed a flyball resulting in a double and run scored. Not starting in a month, yup. Doesn’t help he runs with cinder blocks on his feet.
Anyone notice they he falls down a lot — especially for a young guy ? He has slipped and fallen several times going for long fly balls and one classic slip and fall going around second base. Now this ?
Ferraris are hard to keep on the road. He has Billy Hamilton elite speed and it’s going to cause some issues at times, especially getting used to playing at a higher level. His speed has allowed him to make up for miscues in problems picking up or reading the ball in the OF – but that’s all a part of a rookie campaign. What you’ve seen so far is raw skills. Imagine what he’s capable of with 1-2 campaigns under his belt.
Haven’t seen other fast guys falling down like this … seems like you just made all that up LOL
Another blow to my fantasy team
How? Acuna’s numbers aren’t that great.
I speak for everyone who has listened to you or anyone else complain or talk about your “fantasy” team….no one cares
I have 5 dL players now
Who? I have Kershaw, Carlos Martinez, and now Acuna.
I have Pollack, Acuna, Urias and Martinez.
In our keeper league, I now have 6. Kershaw, Lamet, Miggy, Pollock, Eaton, and Miller. Its been brutal this season.
Brutal for sure
NL-Only……3 DL slots
I have Seager, Acuna, Alex Reyes, Bumgarner, and Darvish……..plus I had Braun for 2 DL stints (dropped him finally)……and I traded Molina when he went on the DL
Bourjos 882 OPS @ AAA. If he can get more than 1 start a week, he might take this confidence from the minors and get hot a few weeks while Acuna is out?
Anyone here into Bowman Chrome?
Acura has a stat line quite similar to Josh Donaldson at the present time, who is described as having mediocre production in a just published mlbtr article. Is it just a difference in expectations between rookie and veteran that has the evaluation of each wildly different?
No, its just disgusting homerism in that you aren’t allowed to be critical of Braves players under ANY circumstances. Its really pathetic and a slight on that fanbase, and all the other fanbases who do stuff like that on this site, like the Cubs. Literally cannot believe Rizzo’s slide was defended when he slid on the mound side of the plate which is wildly illegal but don’t let Cubs fans let facts get in the way of “their boy”.
Just let Acuna get 100% well, Tucker will do a good job filling in. Acuna at 20 has lots of time ahead of him, no need to take any risk.
Atlanta will almost certainly need more pitching help to contend this season anyhow. I know how well they have played but still 66% of the season to go.
Finally, a sensible post. Can you collect your fellow Braves fans on here?
Get lost.
Acuna was begging sntiker earlier to play game 2 tonight. Was running around him and jumping around saying he was fine. Hahhaahah
Showboating doesn’t pay.
Honest, some of you should have your commenting privileges removed. Acuna is acuna, he’s 20years old and needs time to adjust. The way some of you talk, he should be traded for a bag of balls.
Some guys here are talking Fantasy baseball…..and if you’re in a re-draft League, and Acuna misses 2 months (like Harper almost did last year)…..maybe you look for a deal.
Glad it’s not a major injury sure didn’t look good and the kid is an exciting young talent.
That was a freak injury; it looked very bad. No human knee is made to bend like that.