OF Ronald Acuna, Atlanta
29 games, .265/.326/.453, 5 HRs
Acuna is another star rookie who will be unable to capitalize on Juan Soto’s late start to the season. The Braves did not promote their outfielder until April 25, and then he missed nearly all of June after injuring his knee in Boston. Atlanta activated Acuna from the disabled list on Thursday.
When Acuna has been able to play, he has quickly proven himself to be one of the most exciting players in the NL. He has posted a crisp 112 OPS+ with 12 extra-base hits in 29 games, and can absolutely crank the ball a country mile.
His five home runs have traveled a stupid 425 feet on average, and his 93.6 mph exit velocity would rank 11th in the bigs if he had enough batted balls to qualify.
Acuna also has a narrative pushing his award case forward, as the youthful Braves excel as one of baseball’s best storylines of the year. (It remains to be seen whether that’s a more interesting narrative than Soto tearing up the league at age 19 though).
But even as a budding star on a first-place team in the Nats’ own division, Acuna still sits behind Soto in the Rookie of the Year field.
Neither player has made a positive impact defensively, and Soto’s bat clearly outpaces Acuna’s right now. In roughly the same number of plate appearances, Soto has tallied 21 walks and 24 whiffs to Acuna’s 10 free passes and 37 strikeouts.
Things could change if Soto slumps, Acuna goes on a tear, and the Braves hold off the Washington Nationals. But until then, Atlanta’s three-and-a-half game lead in the standings is not enough to make up for Juan Soto’s outstanding offensive performance.