2017 minor league player of the year
Braves prospect keeps improving at every level
Ronald Acuna’s bat speed makes him a rising star in the Braves organization and the winner of this year’s USA TODAY Sports award,
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. It used to be the only way into the Venezuelan fishing village of La Sabana was by four-wheel-drive vehicle. Rolando Petit, a Venezuelan native who has scouted Latin America for the Atlanta Braves for 26 years, knew the way, though. He would slog back through the thickets to La Sabana years ago to hunt for players. That is where he saw Ronald Acuna on a ballfield tucked behind the forests and along the Venezuelan coastline. Ronald Acuna Sr., that is. “Good player,” Petit says. “I saw him 20 years ago. He signed with the Mets. I compared him to Raul Mondesi, who was very good for the Dodgers.”
Petit, 50, was back in La Sabana five years ago — with the help of a better road — and found another Ronald Acuna, the son. He was 141⁄ years old, and Petit’s eyes 2 went wide with interest just watching him trot out onto the field.
“He has body life,” Petit says. “Run, jump, throw or just walk. You could see it. Body life.”
Petit smiles and says, “You look for the genes. His mom is 6-foot-11⁄ and an athlete. His 2 uncles are 6-foot-7 and basketball players. His dad was a good athlete and is a good man. It’s all about projections. You could see the skill, but also how he is as a person.”
It was Acuna’s athleticism that caught Petit’s eye, and then the kid started to throw the ball around. Then he swung the bat, which whizzed through the strike zone, even when held by a 14 year old. Petit was enthralled by the talent. He is the scout who signed Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies and potential future shortstop-third baseman Kevin Maitan.
La Sabana has fewer than 7,000 people. It is still fairly remote, so there was not as much hubbub about Acuna five years ago, but there is now.
After a quick, sudden rise through the Atlanta system the last eight months, Acuna has been named USA TODAY Sports’ Minor League Player of the Year for 2017. He started the season with the Braves’ Class A team in the Florida State League, improving as the competition got better in stops with the Class AA (Pearl) Mississippi Braves and Class AAA Gwinnett (Ga.) Braves.
After getting promoted to Gwinnett following the All-Star break, Acuna hit .344 in 54 games and his defense was superb.
Asked about his season, Acuna says through interpreter Luis Cuadrado, “He is very happy this season because last year he played just 40 games because he broke his (left) hand. He is thankful to God to keep him healthy this season, and he was able to make good progress.”
Acuna, who projects as the Braves right fielder when he is eventually called up, has been a revelation this year. When the Braves started to rebuild two years ago with a flurry of trades, the buzz was mostly around short- stop Dansby Swanson, center fielder Ender Inciarte and pitchers Sean Newcomb and Max Fried, among others, who were all acquired through trades.
Acuna, 19, is homegrown. He was an unknown in 2013 when Petit first saw him and signed for just $100,000 at 16. Petit had contract papers sent from Atlanta with the bonus offer. He told Ronald Acuna Sr. and his wife, Leonelis, “If you agree, we will get this deal done today,” Petit says.
“They called me back in 10 minutes and said yes. There were three or four other teams involved, but they liked the Braves. I know La Sabana. I’ve been going there since I was 10. A beautiful place. I had a connection.”
A TERRIFIC GET
Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that when he saw Acuna play in the 2015 fall instructional league, he was mesmerized by the skill level. Cox saw Acuna again in late fall 2016 in Australia and was still high on him. Acuna had status in the organization with general manager John Coppolella, but his value soared even more in the organization through the winter and into spring.
Indeed, Acuna was a terrific get. He has outplayed many of the million-dollar bonus babies. He still has some growing to do, which is why Acuna was not part of the September call-ups and will report to the Arizona Fall League.
In what might be one of his last games in minor league baseball, Acuna faced the kind of pitching he will see often in the big leagues.