Ronald Acuña Jr. has completely dashed any concerns

Most Braves fans were cautiously optimistic that the 2025 version of Ronald Acuña Jr. would look a lot different than the 2022 version, which is the year after he suffered his first torn ACL.

That season, Acuña set career lows across the board. He hit just 15 homers over 119 games, which is nine fewer than he had in 2021 before his injury in just 82 games. His .764 OPS was the lowest of his career by 119 points, and it undoubtedly raised questions about the type of player he would be for the remainder of his career.

Of course, it didn’t take long for those questions to be answered. Ronald Acuña Jr. responded in 2023 with the first ever 40/70 season in MLB history. He hit .337 and led the league in on-base percentage (.416), steals (73), and OPS (1.012) on the way to his first NL MVP award. Acuña firmly established himself as the National League’s best player, only for him to suffer yet another catastrophic injury just a couple of months into the 2024 campaign, which understandably sparked concern about his future again.

However, the Braves took a much more cautious approach with their star outfielder this time around. Acuña returned from his first torn ACL in less than 10 months. This time, he waited an entire year, and those extra couple of months appear to have made all the difference.

Acuña is hitting .324 with three homers, two doubles, and a 1.042 OPS through his first nine games. The power is especially encouraging, considering that’s what he lacked when he returned the first time, and it was on full display with the first pitch he saw this season, launching a 467-foot missile into the Truist Park bleachers.