"Ronald Acuña Jr., though? He can make your season by himself, if things go his (and your) way. The difference between his MVP-winning 2023 and his unfortunate 2024 was over eight wins in fWAR terms. Eight wins turns a .500 team into a likely playoff entrant. Forecasting Acuña is probably less scary than facing him as a pitcher, but neither should strike you with confidence or zeal."
"Acuña hit the ground running with over 9 fWAR in his first 1,200 career PAs, and then found another gear offensively in 2022-2021, approaching 7 fWAR in under 600 PAs. Unfortunately, there was that whole ACL injury thing suffered in 2021, and 2022 was an uncomfortably pedestrian season. He rebounded with an MVP campaign (9.2 fWAR) in 2023, socking 41 homers, stealing 73 bags, and putting up an absurd .460 xwOBA."
"2024 ended up being a weirdly uncomfortable season for him (a career-worst .350 xwOBA) and he never got a change to dig out of that hole, as he tore his other ACL. His defense also never really returned to anything useful after his first ACL injury - whether due to his own tentativeness, a direction for him to take it easy in the field, or some combination of the two."
Ronald Acuña Jr. produced elite value early, totaling over 9 fWAR in his first 1,200 PAs and approaching 7 fWAR in a later stretch. He suffered an ACL injury in 2021 that preceded a pedestrian 2022 season. He rebounded with a 2023 MVP season (9.2 fWAR), hitting 41 homers, stealing 73 bases, and posting a .460 xwOBA. 2024 was a career-worst offensive year (.350 xwOBA) and culminated in a tear of his other ACL. His defense never fully recovered after the first ACL injury. He remains under the final guaranteed year of an eight-year, $100 million extension with Braves options for 2027 and 2028.
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