You can say that Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is feeling pretty good right now. I mean, how would you feel if you hit homers in five straight games?
The Braves are currently in a dogfight for first place with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. So naturally, they’ve turned to their 20-year-old top prospect (heading into 2018, at least) to provide a spark, which is exactly what he’s done. And with each ball that sails over the fence, he further etches his name in MLB’s record books.
Acuña led off Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Marlins with a home run. He did that to start both games of a doubleheader on Monday, too. He didn’t lead off the two games before that, but he hit homers on those contests, as well.
It’s hard to keep track of all the records the young outfielder has set over the past few days, but the following tweets help put things in perspective a bit.
Here he is getting compared to Miguel Cabrera before homering in his fifth straight game:
.@ronaldacunajr24 joins @MiguelCabrera as the only players under the age of 21 to homer in 4 straight games. pic.twitter.com/q0zHV4UMnV
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 14, 2018
And then once he went yard again, he became the answer to this trivia question:
At 20 years, 239 days young, @ronaldacunajr24 is the youngest player EVER to homer in 5 straight games. pic.twitter.com/l0fM3qEiIt
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 15, 2018
If you thought leading off both games of a doubleheader with a home run is a rare feat, you’d be right:
With another leadoff home run, Acuna of the @Braves becomes the fourth player to hit a leadoff home run in BOTH games of a double header.
The others: Brady Anderson in 1999, Rickey Henderson in 1993, and Harry Hooper in 1913.#ChopOn https://t.co/aKTP2F9VZa
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) August 14, 2018
When a relative unknown and incredibly old name (at least at first glance) like Harry Hooper comes into play, you know you’re doing something special. It also feels like Mickey Mantle has been mentioned a lot with the number of feats young rookies are accomplishing this year, and it happened again thanks to Acuña:
More Acuna notes, because why not?
At 20-238 years old, he is the second-youngest player in MLB history to hit a home run in the leadoff spot in both games of a double header.
The youngest? Mickey Mantle (19-242) on June 19, 1951. #ChopOn https://t.co/Ab8XAkqMkX
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) August 14, 2018
And then, there’s that whole leading off the game with a homer in three straight games:
The streak continues! Ronald Acuña Jr. is the first player in NL history to lead off 3 straight team games with a home run.
The young @Braves star has homered in 5 straight games overall, something no player 20 or younger had ever done.#ChopOn
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) August 15, 2018
This streak of dominance as Atlanta’s leadoff hitter isn’t limited to this short spurt of production, either:
Ronald Acuña Jr. has already hit 11 HR in his first 100 PA in the leadoff spot.
All other Braves hitters have combined for 10 HR in 451 PA out of the leadoff spot this season.
Acuña Jr. is the 2nd player since 1900 to hit a leadoff HR in 3 straight games.
h/t @EliasSports. pic.twitter.com/nC5ER1j9d1
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 15, 2018
Suddenly, you can see why it’s so difficult to keep track of Acuña’s accomplishments during this recent power surge.
It’s been quite a year for the outfielder, especially since it started with some disappointment after not making the Braves’ Opening Day roster. He proceeded to struggle in 101 plate appearances at Triple-A (one homer and a 64 wRC+) before bursting onto the scene with Atlanta.
Prior to slugging his 18th homer of the season, he entered the night with a .282/.342/.552 triple slash through 284 plate appearances, which was good for a 138 wRC+. His 28.5% strikeout rate is a tad high, but he’s eased the pain with a batted-ball profile that includes a 44.1% hard-hit rate and 40.2% fly-ball rate.
Acuña has especially been annihilating fastballs since getting promoted — he’s slashed a ridiculous .310/.355/.724 against that offering, which has led to a .414 ISO, .447 wOBA, and 193 wRC+.
With him and Juan Soto leading the parade of young and dominant first-year players, the National League Rookie of the Year race will be an intriguing one to watch unfold over the next couple months.
About Matt Musico
Matt Musico currently manages Chin Music Baseball and contributes to The Sports Daily. His past work has been featured at numberFire, Yahoo! Sports and Bleacher Report. He’s also written a book about how to become a sports blogger. You can sign up for his email newsletter here.
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