
The Atlanta Braves are a week away from reporting to spring training, so naturally the list season is in full swing. MLB Network, which is in the midst of its ‘Top 10 Right Now’ positional rankings, immediately comes to mind.
What they call ‘The Shredder’ determines these rankings, and this statistical model makes arbitrary and bizarre decisions. It supposedly uses a formula that evaluates a combination of past performance, advanced metrics, and traditional stats to put out its sometimes confusing lists.
One of these questionable lists included the slide of Ronald Acuña Jr. down the rankings of Major League Baseball’s top right fielders.
Ronald Acuña Jr. is the No. 5 right fielder on @MLBNow's #Top10RightNow. pic.twitter.com/iRkRvfZ1nc
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 4, 2026
“Acuña came back from another major knee injury last year, but when he played, he was tremendous,” the network hosts explained. “It was a lost season for the Braves, so it was done in relative obscurity. But Acuña had a .417 on-base percentage, a 1.063 OPS+, and 3.0 WAR in just 95 games. He has been a spectacular, but mercurial player. At his best, he’s among the best handful of players in the game, but he’s only played about 62% of the Braves’ games over the last five years.”
Acuña checked in at No. 5 on the list, behind Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Juan Soto of the New York Mets, Kyle Tucker of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Most players would be perfectly content with a top-five finish, but the Braves’ right fielder is among the best players in the sport and a bona fide superstar.
From a sheer talent perspective, Acuña is one of the top-five players in baseball. Unfortunately, the rankings have seemingly given his injury issues weight. He has appeared in 120 or more games in just two of his seven MLB seasons, but when he does, it’s electric.
Ronald Acuna Jr has played more than 150 games in a season twice:
— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) February 3, 2026
2019: 41 HR, 37 SB, .883 OPS
2023: 41 HR, 73 SB, 1.012 OPS
Nobody in baseball is more electric than a healthy Ronald Acuna Jr—here’s to hoping we get 150+ in 2026 pic.twitter.com/KBruvdL9Hx
In that 2023 season, the superstar appeared in 159 games and won the National League MVP Award after hitting 41 home runs, stealing 73 bases, and accounting for a 1.012 OPS. Injuries have since hampered Acuña, and he has played in just 144 games in his last two seasons combined.
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When he did play, it was apparent that he was still the player from 2023. He slashed .290/.417/.518 across 412 plate appearances and landed in the MLB All-Star Game last summer.
2025 was a lost season for the Braves overall, and the superstar outfielder will need another healthy year before he can push his way up these lists. If he can stay off the injury list, he will be right back where he belongs this time next year, and right back in the MVP discussion this summer.
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