The Atlanta Braves played an early matinee against the Miami Marlins on Jackie Robinson Day, and star young outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. mightily announced his presence in the fifth inning with a home run off a Trevor Rogers fastball.
Acuña came into Thursday's tilt tied with Wilson Ramos of the Detroit Tigers for the MLB lead in home runs. He now has the MLB lead. To the action footage:
Can't stop @ronaldacunajr24. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/t9SdjdSC5i
— MLB (@MLB) April 15, 2021
Let's also have a cloutsman-centric view of this particular long ball:
There's on fire and then there's Ronald Acuña Jr. pic.twitter.com/z45XYp8tPP
— MLB (@MLB) April 15, 2021
Attacking the first pitch is a bit of an underutilized approach among MLB hitters not named Ronald Acuña Jr., and Acuña leads all comers in first-pitch homers since the start of the 2019 season. The 23-year-old All-Star is now slashing .431/.483/1.000 on the young season, which -- urgent bulletin -- is an exceptionally high level of production. Acuña thus far in 2021 is showing a reduced chase rate, which could signal he's poised to take the next step in his development. Let it be noted that Acuña has already established himself as an MVP-grade performer, but he's perhaps yet to reach his ceiling as a hitter.
Now here's some related franchise history:
Ronald Acuña Jr. home run szn!
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 15, 2021
He now has 14 extra-base hits this season, tied with 1959 Henry Aaron for most by a Braves player in the team's 1st 13 games of a season (since at least 1901)
Suffice it to say, Mr. Aaron is not a bad fellow traveler when it comes to outputs with the bat.
The remainder of the Braves have, in general terms, been pretty disappointing thus far in 2021, but the club's brightest and most productive star has been anything but. Don't be surprised if Acuña this season winds up being on the short-short-list of best players in baseball.
