Ronald Acuña Jr. can credit a refined approach at the plate to none other than Fernando Tatis Sr.
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. are very close, but it was Fernando Tatis Sr. who may have made all the difference in Acuna’s newfound swing at the plate.
The Atlanta Braves‘ star right fielder is in the midst of an NL MVP-caliber season. He is slashing .323/.409/.971 with 11 home runs, 27 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases. While Acuña and Tatis are transcendent baseball talents, they were both working their way back from serious injuries. Acuña had a knee repaired, while Tatis had a wrist injury, as well as a steroid suspension.
While working out in the offseason in Tatis’ native Dominican Republic, Fernando Tatis Sr. suggested to Acuña to lower his hands a bit at the plate. This was done to have the bat be essentially parallel to his body and allow him to get the barrel through the strike zone faster. Tatis was a sensational player for the St. Louis Cardinals back in the day, so Acuña did take his advice.
Don’t call it a comeback; call it the next step in the ascension of baseball’s next great superstar.
Ronald Acuña Jr. takes a page out of Fernando Tatis Sr.’s playbook to new heights
Although the Braves have cooled off a tad from their blistering hot start in April, they still hold a sizable lead in the NL East race. It is one that is far from over, but this team should have the makings of being able to win its sixth divisional crown in a row. Of course, that will not be satisfactory for the rabid fanbase known as Braves Country. They want to win the World Series.
What has been fantastic watching Acuña’s game all season is he has found ways to positively impact his team’s play seemingly every night. He is getting on base more often than not and wreaking havoc on the base paths pretty much every time he touches first base. Of course, this is all set out with a refined approach at the plate of a potential batting champ. He would love that!
At this rate, Acuña will have a 30-30 campaign under his belt well before August. He will get to 30 steals probably before the middle of June. As far as the big flies are concerned, Acuña would rather lead the league in hitting, mostly because he knows he has big bats behind him backing him up in Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy and his most favorite teammate of all time in Ozzie Albies.
As long as the Braves win the division and are a top-two or three team in the National League, Acuña is primed to win his first NL MVP award. He will have to play at some rough approximation of this clip for the better part of the final four months of the regular season, but he is your NL MVP heading into Memorial Day Weekend for sure. We can safely say that La Bestia is officially back.
For him to have not gone into a slump for the better part of two months is almost unheard of now.
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