Ronald Acuna Jr. had to be removed from play on a cart during Saturday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins. Acuna Jr. hurt his leg, apparently. The Braves outfielder injured his leg after attempting to make a catch on a fly ball off the bat of Marlins player Jazz Chisholm. According to Braves beat writer David O’Brien, as of this writing, Acuna’s fate is still unknown.
Acuña is still being examined and Snitker said they would probably know more Sunday morning. Obviously they hope it’s not as bad as it looked, but they didn’t have much beyond that, for now.
— David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 11, 2021
Braves manager Brian Snitker says that they will most likely have some kind of answer by Sunday morning. Losing Acuna for any length of time would be a dramatic blow to an already struggling offense. He’s making a strong case for National League MVP and has helped lead the team.
The Consequences of Ronald Acuna Jr. Hurt
All season long, Ronald Acuna Jr. has proven his worth. Currently, he’s hitting .281 with 24 homers and 52 RBI. However, the noteworthy item here is that he leads the league with 71 runs. Considering he primarily bats leadoff, this is quite a large accomplishment. He also has 83 hits, 16 stolen bases, and is slugging .593. His OPS+ is 155 and he has a WAR of 3.4. He has been voted into the All-Star Game as a starter. All of this came on the heels of one of the greatest starts to a season in Braves history.
A player cannot get out of the gates much better than Ronald Acuna Jr. did this year. He won NL Player of the Month honors in April. He hit .341 with eight homers, 18 RBI, and 30 hits. His plate discipline did not lag, either. 15 walks helped lead to a .443 on-base percentage. His slugging average was .705 and his OPS was an astounding 1.148. His batting average was higher than his BAbip (.328) and his WPA for the month was over 1.6. While he has since cooled considerably, he is still a massive offensive threat for the Braves. Acuna Jr. hurt leaves one of the biggest holes imaginable in the lineup.
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