Acuña has the talent, and none of it being wasted Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Braves Sale Praises Acuña's Push to Maximize Talent

Originally posted on Atlanta Braves on SI
By Harrison Smajovits | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Ronald Acuña Jr. needs little introduction at this point. He's an MVP winner who is back to that former and arguably back better than ever. When Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale joined 680 The Fan on Thursday to talk about the season and his own recent big night, he said how special it was to have an Acuña on the staff.

"He's a true one of one," Sale said on 680 The Fan's Cellini & Dimino.

Sale took his thoughts on Acuña step further to emphasize a key trait of the 2023 National League MVP. He doens't just have the talent. He making them most of every ounce of the talent he possesses.

"I do appreciate talent. I appreciate not wasting it too," Sale said. "He seems to know what he has, and he doesn't abuse it. I appreciate guys who go out there and play hard and leave all out on the field. He's not wasting at-bats."

Acuña brings multiple tools to the table as part of his loose and energetic style of play. Sale recalled when the right fielder got a timely double-play in the top of the ninth. He ran down Pete Alonso's fly ball for a leaping catch and quickly got a shot off to get Juan Soto out on the force play.

VOTE. RONALD.

https://t.co/tF2BPq04Q9 pic.twitter.com/od2vle67iG
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 18, 2025

These are the types of plays that Acuña could have shyed away from after his injuries. After all, he's limiting his baserunning for that reason. Instead, he's still going out there and making these tpyes of plays.

"This is a guy who's had a pretty tough road with some knee injuries and surgeries and things like that," Sale said. "And he's still willing to sacrifice himself for the team and making plays and getting outs. That would have been a very easy play to just play off the wall and get it in quick and try to keep him at first base."

Sale is definitely a guy who has developed an understanding of that type of perseverance. He had a three-season period where he made 11 total starts from 2020 to 2022 due to multiple injuries. He made just 20 starts in his final year with the Red Sox in 2023 and struggled when available. Despite that, he pushed to get back to the top of his game and is giving the Braves every inning he can with each start. In his last nine starts, he pitched into the seventh inning seven times.

Acuña is doing the same at the plate and in the field. In 24 games back, Acuña is batting .376 with a 1.185 OPS, eight home runs and 14 RBIs. These two teammates are looking likely to be, at the very least, the ones to represent the city come the All-Star Game in Atlanta in a few weeks.