ROOKIE RAVES
Acuna wins NL Rookie of the Year
Atlanta Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna was named the 2018 National League Rookie of the Year, the league announced Monday.
He topped fellow outfielder Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals 114-89. Acuna garnered 27 first-place votes while Soto had two. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler was the third finalist.
Shohei Ohtani was an overwhelming pick for American League Rookie of the Year.
The Braves now can claim eight rookie of the year winners. Acuna is the first since reliever Craig Kimbrel in 2011. Rafael Furcal (2000) and David Justice (1990) were other semi-recent winners.
Acuna versus Soto will be remembered as one of the all-time rookie debates. Both assembled two of the greatest under-21 seasons in MLB history, and in many other years either would’ve been a clear rookie winner.
Following a roughly three-week stint in the minors, the Braves promoted Acuna after the team lost the first two games of a road trip in Cincinnati. Acuna homered in his second game and helped the Braves to a 7-3 trip that helped turn the fantasy of a winning season into reality.
One of the more hyped prospects in recent memory, Acuna hit .293 with 22 homers, 70 RBIs and 75 runs scored in 111 games. He played exceptional defense while providing speed on the bases (16 steals).
Soto batted .292 with 22 homers, 25 doubles and 70 RBIs in 116 games. He didn’t grade as favorably as Acuna defensively.
Washington promoted Soto in late May. He’d been wrecking minorleague pitching, though he had just 31 at-bats at the Double-A level. The Nationals were struggling and in need of a spark. As great as Soto was, the team slowly fell too far behind the Braves and Phillies.
The story of Acuna’s season was manager Brian Snitker’s decision to hit his rookie leadoff following the All-Star break. It was that decision that might’ve won the Braves the National League East.
With the team desperate for a spark after sluggishly stumbling into the break, Acuna — who hadn’t hit particularly well himself — was thrust into the leadoff role. He became the ultimate tone-setter, from his lead-off homers to hit-and-steals to his electrifying demeanor.
There was also the midsummer moment that Marlins pitcher Jose Urena intentionally hit Acuna after he’d led off three consecutive games with homers, homered eight times in eight days and became the youngest to go deep in five straight games.
The play fired up Braves coaches and players. It helped draw an already tight clubhouse closer. Acuna then homered against the Marlins when they met in Miami a week later.
The rookie hammered eight leadoff home runs, a franchise record. The climax was in August, when he hit .336 with 11 homers and 21 RBIs, helping the Braves stay afloat in a tight race with Philadelphia.
He also hit a grand slam in the Braves’ lone postseason win over the Dodgers, the first playoff game at SunTrust Park.
Ohtani was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings in 10 starts. As a designated hitter, he batted .285 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs in 367 plate appearances.
An elbow injury stymied his switch from Japan to the major leagues and likely will prevent him from pitching next year.
“I was just kind of disappointed I wasn’t able to play a full season,” he said through a translator.