Atlanta Braves news: Ronald Acuña Jr., Chipper Jones, PECOTA season projections
By Kevin Henry
As pitchers and catchers report, there is plenty of Atlanta Braves news to cover, including the health of Ronald Acuña Jr., Chipper Jones return, and PECOTA projections.
While the New York Mets may have grabbed a lot of the offseason headlines with their historic spending spree in an effort to knock off the Atlanta Braves from the top of the National League East, the Braves simply kept watching the days tick by, knowing that every day was another closer to Acuña taking the field healthy and ready to contribute in a big way.
Atlanta Braves news: Ronald Acuña Jr. ready to have big season in 2023?
Acuña is projected to be one of the top 10 statistical players in MLB in 2023, with the 25-year-old outfielder tabbed for 5.4 fWAR in the upcoming season. After posting 2.8 bWAR last season and playing through “terrible” pain while still recovering from his ACL injury that forced him to miss the 2021 World Series, Acuña could double that production this season. That would be a welcome sight for Braves fans.
He has reported to spring training early and seem ready to put the pain in the past.
“I’m not going to have any pain, I’m going to be fully healthy and I’m going to be able to do whatever I’m capable of doing on the field,” Acuña told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and others.
Acuña is certainly a player to watch this season in what should be a fascinating NL East race.