As the Braves continue their push to overtake the Mets in the NL East and contend for another World Series title, a productive and healthy Ronald Acuña Jr. has to be a part of the equation—especially following the loss of Adam Duvall.
After a throwing error and another misplayed fly ball in right field in Sunday's loss to the Angels, Brian Snitker was asked postgame about Acuña’s defense so far this season and took the opportunity to defend the young superstar.
“He’s a baseball player, I don’t expect him to be perfect, I know that. There’s a kid coming off a major knee surgery, so I have never looked at it and thought about it in any of those kind of terms,” Snitker said.
Answering a follow-up, Snitker again pushed back on the notion that Acuña’s defense is a concern, saying that "he’s made some good plays too” following his return to the lineup in late April after rehabbing his surgically-repaired ACL.
Acuña has shown flashes of the player Braves fans know him to be, but in just 49 games in right field he’s committed three errors—two shy of his career high. At the plate, Acuña is hitting .264 with eight home runs and 23 RBI. As the Braves wait for him to find his groove offensively, Carl Dukes said on 92.9 The Game that the glove needs to be a constant plus for the Braves right now.
“Those defensive mistakes, you cannot have. I can have you struggling at the plate, you’ll work out of it at some point—everybody goes through that. But, I can’t have you out making defensive mistakes, and that is more a concern than what he’s doing at the plate,” he said.
Along with many Braves fans, Mike Bell is looking for answers in regards to what might be ailing Acuña. While he says that his prowess on the base paths should rule out any lingering injury issues, Bell argued that Acuña often looks sluggish since returning to the roster.
“Whatever it is, I think we can all agree, he looks like a shadow of the Ronald Acuña we saw before he got injured,” Bell said.
To that end, Dukes stated that Snitker may need to give Acuña a few days of rest to get his legs back under him. He is in the lineup tonight as the Braves head to Philadelphia to open a three-game set.