Ronald Acuña Jr.

Career

Acuña signed with the Atlanta Braves for $100,000 as an international free agent in July 2014. He debuted professionally in 2015 with the Gulf Coast Braves and later moved to the Danville Braves, batting .269 with four home runs, 18 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases across 55 games. In 2016, he slashed .312/.392/.429 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 42 games between the Gulf Coast Braves and Rome Braves before an injury. That offseason, he played for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League and was named an ABL All-Star.

During 2017 spring training, he appeared in Grapefruit League games as an extra player from minor league camp. He started the season with the Florida Fire Frogs, then advanced to the Mississippi Braves, and was selected for the All-Star Futures Game. After the break, he joined the Gwinnett Braves and hit an opposite-field home run in his second at-bat against the Charlotte Knights. For the year, he batted .325/.374/.522 with 21 homers, 82 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases in 139 games.

Following the minor league season, he played 23 games in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas, hitting .325/.414/.639 with seven home runs, winning the league championship and MVP honors as the youngest such recipient. Baseball America ranked him the No. 1 MLB prospect entering 2018, while MLB.com placed him second behind Shohei Ohtani. Despite a .432 average and four home runs in spring training, he was reassigned to minor league camp on March 19, 2018, and began the season with the Gwinnett Stripers.

Player profile

Acuña is a powerful right-handed batter with an all-around hitting range. Former major league hitter Sean Casey compared his batting style to Roberto Clemente, noting that his natural core power and rotational torque allow him to hit without a backswing while keeping the bat knob pointing down at home plate. On the basepaths, he starts with an upright stance similar to an infielder or a running back, with a slight bend of the knees and hands on the knees to generate acceleration, a technique that also prevents leaning or tipping off fielders for base stealing.

Personal life

Ronald Acuña Jr. comes from a baseball family. His grandfather, Romualdo Blanco, and his father, Ronald Acuña Sr., both played in the minor leagues, and his father also played for Venezuela at the 2011 Pan American Games. Acuña Jr. is the oldest of four boys; his mother is Leonelis Blanco. Two of his brothers are professional players: Luisangel with the Chicago White Sox and Bryan in the Minnesota Twins system. His uncle, José Escobar, played for the Cleveland Indians in 1991, and several cousins—Vicente Campos, Alcides Escobar, Edwin Escobar, Kelvim Escobar, and Maikel García—have also reached Major League Baseball. Acuña married Maria Laborde on August 31, 2023, after knowing each other for four years and getting engaged in January of that year. The couple have two sons.