Acuna impressed Chipper a while ago

Ronald Acuna had two doubles Saturday night for his second multihit performance in three games since the Braves promoted the 19-yearold outfielder from Double-A Mississippi to TripleA Gwinnett last week, a move that made him the youngest player in Triple-A and arguably one of the best.

Among those in the Braves organization not surprised by Acuna’s immediate impact at the highest minor league level: Chipper Jones. The retired former third baseman has raved about Acuna since the first day that Jones, a Braves special assistant, watched Acuna on a backfield during minor league spring training in 2016, when the kid hadn’t played above rookie ball and long before he appeared in any top-prospects list.

Jones compared him at the time to a young Andruw Jones and 16 months later, the future Hall of Famer looks prescient in that praise. Last week Acuna was named the No. 1 prospect in the Braves’ talent-rich minor league system and No. 10 overall by Baseball America in its midseason Top 100, up from No. 62 in the magazine’s preseason list.

“It’s really amazing what he’s done. He’s jumped two levels this year and could conceivably get a cup of coffee (a major league call-up) in September,” Jones said. “And I certainly see him pushing for a spot in spring training.”

Acuna, who had been the youngest player in the Double-A Southern League before his promotion, went 3 for 5 with a long oppositefield home run in his Gwinnett debut Friday.

He was 5 for 14 (.357) with three walks and a .471 OBP in three Triple-A games before Sunday.