Teen outfielder draws heady comparison

The Braves brought top outfield prospect Ronald Acuna from minor league camp and gave him a Grapefruit League start in center field Thursday, and all he did was go 3 for 4 with two doubles, giving him five hits in seven at-bats in major league games this spring.

Keep in mind, this is a kid who just turned 19 in December and hasn’t played above the low-Single A level in pro ball.

“He’s a special kid,” Snitker said after a 9-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla. “I saw that in Instructional League. I’d heard about him, and now I see what everybody’s talking about. The kid’s just a natural ballplayer. Three hits, and the biggest thing, that throw he made in the corner (after switching to right field midgame) was something else.”

A year ago, future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, now a Braves special assistant, came back from the back fields on Jones’ first day in spring training and was asked if anyone caught his eye. The first player he mentioned was Acuna, and Jones gave him the highest of compliments by comparing him to 10-time Braves Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones.

He would not be the first, or last, to make the comparison.

“He’s 19, going to play 19 all year,” Snitker said of Acuna. “He’s going to be a young big leaguer. He’s just one of those guys. Reminds me of Andruw running around out there at 19 years old.”

Snitker wasn’t predicting Acuna would be a 19-year-old major leaguer, but it won’t surprise anyone if the kid reaches the major leaguers in the not-very-distant future.

Acuna hit .312 with a .392 on-base percentage, four home runs and 14 stolen bases in 42 games last season, including 40 games at low-A Rome, but missed much of the season after a June thumb injury. So the Braves sent him to Australia for winter ball, where he made the AllStar team while playing with and against mostly players who were significantly older.