Ronald Acuna Jr, the Braves sophomore phenom, stormed onto the scene last year putting up a .917 OPS, a 143 WRC +, and a 26:16 HR to steals ratio, in 119 games, which was more than enough to earn him the NL ROY. The top prospect in baseball did nothing to disappoint in his first season in the big leagues, and Braves fans and management were salivating at the unlimited potential of the Venezuela native. Entering this season Acuna was expected to spearhead a Braves lineup, that with the acquisition of Josh Donaldson, appeared to be one of the most feared lineups in all of baseball. Now as we enter the dog days of August, and Atlanta sees themselves perched comfortably on top of the NL East division, it’s clear that Acuna has at the very least met all expectations. Also considering Acuna’s current torrid stretch, that dates back to the All – Star break, it is clear that the NL MVP conversation which has predominantly only been between Yelich and Bellinger, may have to make room for a dark horse.

So what has Acuna done since he participated in the undeniably, unstoppable, swing breaking, slump starting Home Run Derby /s? In 29 games since he has slashed a blazing .315/.383/.630 with 12 HR’s (2ND in NL), 15 SB’s (1ST in MLB), and an absurd 1.013 OPS! He has put up a 1.7 fWAR (1st in NL), a .414 wOBA (8th in NL), and has done so while hammering the ball to all parts of the ballpark. Taking a look at Acuna’s career spray chart, it’s hard not to be in awe of its beauty.

The Baby Brave Masher has been able to hit any pitch to any part of the field and do so with authority. This can be attributed to his 91st percentile hard hit rate which coincides with his outstanding ability to put the barrel on the baseball. Acuna’s 15.1% barrel rate puts him in the top 4% of the league and has led to a significant increase in the number of line drives he is hitting, compared to last year. This has led his expected stats to suggest that perhaps he should be even more effective than he has been, as his xSLG of .560, which ranks in the upper 4th percentile of the MLB, is just under ~30 points higher than his actual SLG.

Though Acuna likely has a lot of ground to make up if he wants to catch up to the Yeli/Beli MVP tandem, there are some things working in his favor. Zips has Acuna on pace for 9HR’s and 8 SB’s to finish out the year which would put his season totals at 42 HR and 36 SBs. However, Acuna has really started to ramp up his running game as of late, stealing 15 bags over just the past month alone, so though unlikely, it is not impossible to think that Acuna can continue his running stretch and reach the elusive 40 SB mark. Yes, that would put Acuna in the ever exclusive 40/40 club which is home to only 4 other members. Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano. Oh, and of those 4 members Acuna would have achieved the feat as the youngest of the bunch, making him the youngest player to reach the 40/40 milestone in baseball history. That isn’t just a great narrative, that’s an MVP narrative. Acuna has also played plus defense at all three outfield positions this year too which has provided Atlanta with additional depth and flexibility while dealing with some injuries to Ender Inciarte, and some cold slumps from the likes of Camargo and Riley.

Again, just to reiterate, I understand that Acuna is currently sitting behind Bellinger and Yelich in the MVP race and is going to need to continue his current torrid stretch if he is going to want to have any hope of claiming the trophy. However, I feel as though the NL MVP conversation has only been talked about as a two horsed race, when perhaps the ultimate dark horse that is Acuna, is now trotting into the conversation. This going to be an exciting race to the end of the season, and if Yelich isn’t able to hoist his team into the playoffs and Bellinger gets injured or is docked for being on such a loaded team, then perhaps Acuna can make history and become the youngest MVP the MLB has ever seen.