2025 Atlanta Braves Performance Review: Ronald Acuña Jr.

Ronald Acuña, Jr. is a superstar who’s had a career marred by injury. Despite suffering his second ACL tear in three years in 2024, the Atlanta Braves’ right fielder made an incredible resurgence, netting himself not just the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year award, but a place in the starting lineup of the All-Star Game. 

In 2025, Acuña batted .290 with 21 home runs and 42 RBIs. Of course, his hitting stats pale in comparison to his most recent injury-free season when he won the NL MVP in 2023, especially when looking at his nine stolen bases. However, keep in mind, Acuña is just one year removed from a catastrophic injury and was still recovering at the start of 2025. He didn’t get to participate in a proper Spring Training. 

Acuña had just his fifth-best season of his career by WAR with 3.1, which serves as a testament to just how incredible he’s been in his eight-year career. Acuña’s defensive WAR and defensive runs saved (DRS) were the lowest they’ve ever been in 2025, with two errors on 171 total chances. 

When compared to Acuña’s other All-Star and MVP-level seasons, his 2025 production could appear to be disappointing, but he’s again just one year removed from the second catastrophic injury of his career.

Acuña’s best season to date was in 2023, when he was two years removed from his first ACL injury. This makes a fair bit of sense, as Acuña’s not been available for Spring Training or offseason prep in both 2022 and 2025, both years in which his stats were down. 

Acuña’s headed into the offseason completely healthy for the first time since the offseason before the 2023 season. Former Braves manager Brian Snitker has been adamant that it makes a world of difference for a player to enter an offseason not in rehab, so Acuña could very well have another impressive year in 2026.

One major part of Acuña’s game that may never fully recover, though, is his stolen base stats. With both of his ACLs having suffered a tear and being increasingly susceptible to re-injury, he’s likely to take his foot off the gas when it comes to swiping bags.

Acuña has been hit or miss throughout his career when he’s recovering from injury, but he’s been dominant whenever he’s fully healthy. Barring another catastrophic injury, the 27-year-old is poised for a 2026 season that could very well net him far more awards than just Comeback Player of the Year.

More From Atlanta Braves on SI