Ronald Acuna Jr. sounds completely lost addressing his struggles at the plate

Ronald Acuna Jr. is one of the brightest young talents in the game. At just 26 years old, the Atlanta Braves right fielder already has a National League Rookie of the Year and an NL MVP award to his credit, and his full complement of skills frequently lands him near the top of any list of the best players in baseball. Acuna became the inaugural member of the 40-70 club last year, but this season has brought nothing but frustration, and even he can't understand why.

Acuna has struggled mightily at bat and on the bases, and he’s well off the pace of the scorching precedent he set last year. After more than a quarter of the season, he’s managed just three homers and 14 steals, and he’s already struck out more than half as many times as he did last year in nearly four times the games.

The Venezuelan outfielder was asked about his troubles at the plate after an 0-3 showing in a 9-1 loss to the Padres last night, and his answer made it appear that he’s no closer to figuring things out than he was earlier in the season. “I don’t know if it’s timing or not, but right now I’m not that good,” he said.

Acuna isn't wrong, but the most troubling part is that his problems at the plate have negatively affected his performance elsewhere on the diamond, too

At one point a week ago, he was picked off of first base three straight times, which has to stand alongside Joe Dimaggio’s 56-game hit streak and Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no-hitters as baseball records that will never be broken. Last night, he dropped a routine fly ball in the fourth inning that can only be explained by an extreme and unacceptable lack of concentration.

Acuna was rightly roasted by people around baseball for his embarrassing error, and it’s clear that he has some work to do mentally to get his game back on track.

Baseball is an insanely difficult game, but Acuna’s lack of effectiveness this year is still shocking. With the exception of 2022, when he was still recovering from his torn ACL, Acuna has posted an OPS of at least .883 every year of his career. He currently sits at .690, a precipitous dropoff from the league-leading 1.012 he put up last year. 

The Braves have shown in the past that they can win with or without their uber-talented outfielder. Atlanta won the World Series in 2021, doing so without Acuna after he tore his ACL midway through the season, but if they’d like to hang another banner at Truist Park, they’d surely find it easier with his help.

The Dodgers, powered by Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, have looked like a juggernaut in jumping out to a 32-17 record, while the Phillies, who have knocked the Braves out of the last two postseasons, have the best record in baseball at 34-14. That leaves Atlanta five games out of first place in the NL East, a division they’ve won each of the past six years. 

Despite his admission that he’s not good right now, Acuna did still appear positive that he would get things figured out, going on to say last night, “I am confident that it’ll get turned around and there’ll be good things ahead.”

Acuna is far too talented not to get back on track, so his National League opponents should enjoy this while it lasts. Luckily for Braves fans, the team still has the third-best record in the NL anyway, and there are more than four months until the playoffs start. Something tells me he’ll round into form by then.