For the Atlanta Braves & Ronald Acuna Jr., no team has a player this dangerous | Bill Shanks
There are a few sports labels that can occasionally be overused. Look no further than college football, specifically recruiting, when we get hung up on how many stars a prospect may have by their name.
Of course, it’s not perfect. Stetson Bennett didn’t have many stars at all, and yet look what he did for two seasons leading the Georgia football program.
In baseball, the phrase “five-tool player” is the equivalent of a five-star prospect in football. A five-tool baseball prospect excels at hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, has a superb throwing arm, and has excellent fielding skills.
Every spring, we seem to hear there are a number of five-tool prospects scouring the back minor league fields in Florida and Arizona waiting to become the next star.
Well, it’s time to redefine the term. Instead of wondering what those five tools are, let’s just compare anyone mentioned as such a prospect to a current MLB player. This is easy. The next time someone says, “Oh, so-and-so is a five-tool prospect,” just give them a direct response.
“You mean they’re like Ronald Acuna, Jr.?”
Has anyone truly defined the label more perfectly than the Braves star? Starting Tuesday’s play, Acuna is tied for the third best batting average in the sport (.335), tied for the ninth most home runs (32), leads in stolen bases (63) and continues to shine defensively in every game.
The stolen bases are what set him apart when comparing him to other similar players. Barry Bonds was a five-tool player early in his career. His defensive skills deteriorated and, while he ran fast as a younger player, he never had more than 52 in one season.
Mike Trout has never had more than 49 steals in one season. Bryce Harper topped out at 21 in a single year. Alex Rodriguez had 46 stolen bases to go along with his power early on, but some question how good he was defensively.
Atlanta’s Chipper Jones was a great player, but his best stolen base number in a single season was 25.
Even Mookie Betts, the other main contender for the National League MVP award with Acuna, can be separated by stolen bases. Betts has only 10, and while he has more home runs (38) than Acuna, the combination of numbers gives the Braves outfielder the edge.
Acuna is on pace for 38 home runs and 75 stolen bases. He’s already the first player in MLB history to have 30 or more home runs and 60 or more stolen bases in a single-season. Ever.
Acuna might give the Braves the edge in October. No other team is going to have a player this dangerous. Sure, Betts gives the Dodgers a tremendous threat in the lineup paired with Freddie Freeman. And if Arizona gets in, they have a rising five-tool player in Corbin Carroll. But Acuna proved this past weekend in Los Angeles how he can take over a series.
Every time Acuna gets on with a single or walk, you might as well go ahead and put him at second base. He’s going to steal when he sees the opportunity. His baserunning on first-to-third is outstanding. The power, as he showed Saturday night with the bomb that hit Dodger Stadium hard, is unreal. And just try to run on his arm if you round third and head for home. Chances are, you’ll be out.
The Braves have a tremendous chance to win another World Series. And to think they did it two years ago without Acuna and Marcell Ozuna is crazy. Ozuna has been on another planet since May 1, hitting .300 with 30 home runs and 74 runs batted in. You have to believe those two, who watched when the Braves were winning it all, want to be at the forefront this time. They seem determined to get their own rings, one with them front and center in October.
We’ve seen greatness before in an Atlanta uniform. Greg Maddux was perhaps the greatest pitcher of the last 50 years. He was 194-88 in 11 seasons with the Braves, along with a 2.63 earned run average. Every fifth day, you kind of knew Maddux was going to do something special.
And now, we’re seeing magic every single night. It’s almost as if when Acuna does something good, the Braves are going to win. In the games Acuna has homered, the Braves are 25-5. And when he gets on base, Acuna will make something happen. He leads all of baseball in hits and runs scored.
This Atlanta lineup is now being mentioned in the same breath as the “27 Yankees,” which has always been the standard-bearer for offensive greatness in baseball. Matt Olson leads baseball in home runs (44), Austin Riley is at 32 home runs, and Ozzie Albies is at 28. The Braves have 259 home runs as a team, 46 more than the next-closest team, the Dodgers.
But it all starts at the top. As Acuna goes, so do the Braves. If he’s doing his thing in October, the Braves are going to be awfully tough to beat. He’ll not only be a five-tool player, but a two-time World Champion.Listen to The Bill Shanks Show weekdays at 3:00 pm ET on FM 104.3 The SuperStations in Savannah or online at TheSuperStations.com. Email Bill at TheBillShanksShow@yahoo.com\
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. is that dangerous | Bill Shanks
