Ronald

Acuña Jr.

Acuña swiped second and third after collecting a single off Brayan Bello in the first. He typically saves his steals for the regular season — he was 1-for-1 stealing bases in 2023 and 0-for-1 in 2024 before missing last spring in his ACL recovery — so it was fun seeing him be aggressive today. Acuña is 3-for-11 this spring.

Weiss wouldn’t divulge his entire lineup yet, though he did note that Drake Baldwin could be a candidate to bat second, as he wasn’t concerned about batting two left-handed hitters back-to-back in him and Olson. Once spring training really gets rolling and we see him put some lineups in play, we’ll get a better sense of how the Braves will operate.

Acuña now has 10 steals in 12 games in Venezuela, exceeding his total of nine in 95 major league games following his return from a torn ACL last season. That seems like a very good sign for his fantasy value.

Acuña has led off in 84% of his career starts, but Brian Snitker had him hitting third for much of last year and even dropped him as low as seventh while he was slumping in September. We’re guessing he’ll go back into the leadoff spot under Weiss, but if not, he would likely bat third behind Jurickson Profar and Matt Olson. Acuña is currently playing winter ball in Venezuela and has gone 9-for-29 with two homers and six steals in eight games.

Acuña cut back on his running after returning from a torn ACL last season, finishing with nine steals in 95 games for the Braves, but he’s swiped six bags in just three games for the Tiburones. That seems like a big deal for his 2026 fantasy value, though running so much might make it more likely that he gets hurt again.

Acuña obviously couldn’t play for his hometown team last winter because he was recovering from an ACL tear, but this will be his third stint with La Guaira in the last four years. He hit .398/.524/.717 over 31 games in the first two.

Acuña made plenty of noise this past season in his return from another major knee injury, slashing .290/.417/.518 with 21 homers and nine steals over 95 games after rejoining Atlanta in late May from a torn ACL. The dynamic 27-year-old power/speed threat has now undergone two ACL surgeries in his career, yet his elite athleticism and production remain intact. He projects as a first-round pick in all fantasy drafts next spring.

Acuña absolutely devoured a first-inning offering from Johan Oviedo; one that traveled an estimated 451 feet to center. The 27-year-old also drew a walk to give him a slash of .290/.417/.518. His season started late because of his ACL injury, but Acuña played well when he was able to give it a go. He’ll have a full offseason to get healthy ahead of his age-28 season, and hopefully we’ll get optimistic reports about him running to restore some of his stolen base upside.

Acuña Jr. was hitting .198 in his first 30 games after the All-Star break and struggling to hit with the kind of power we had seen from him earlier in the season. Starting in the middle of September, he opened up his stance a little more, moving his front foot closer to third base before loading. It’s unclear if that’s the main reason for his success, but he has been on fire since September 9th, hitting .353/.492/.667 in 14 games with five home runs, 14 runs scored, eight RBI, and two steals.

The 27-year-old superstar ambushed a first-pitch slider from Brad Lord in the sixth inning, crushing a go-ahead, 433-foot (111.3 mph EV) solo shot that gave the Braves a 2-1 advantage they’d never relinquish. Acuña also struck out twice in the ballgame. For the season, he’s slashing .285/.414/.514 with 20 long balls, 40 RBI and eight stolen bases in 394 plate appearances.