Ronald Acuña Jr. named as a dark horse to be the next Triple Crown winner
Winning a Triple Crown is one of the toughest things you can do it baseball, so why shouldn't Ronald Acuña Jr. be mentioned when discussing who could be the next to do it?
To lead the National League or American League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs, is a tough feat but when MLB.com listed out some potential players who could be the next to do it, Acuña made the list as a dark horse.
Juan Soto and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees were listed as the favorites to be the next to pull off a triple crown. Of course, Shohei Ohtani was also named in that top tier.
No Atlanta Braves were listed in the "Contenders" category. Bur Acuña was listed as a "Dark Horse" to win the next triple crown. They list Acuña and Los Angeles Dodgers Mookie Betts together. Here's what was written:
Barring a specific change, neither Acuña nor Betts will win a Triple Crown. That's not a bold prediction. The reason why is simple: Hitting leadoff caps your RBI opportunities. That's what happens when you are guaranteed at least one plate appearance per game with the bases empty. How many Triple Crown winners have batted first? None -- unless you want to count the one plate appearance that Gehrig and Mantle had out of the leadoff spot in 1934 and 1956, respectively. Betts set a record last year with 107 RBIs as a leadoff hitter (Acuña had 106). The last time a player led his league with 107 or fewer RBIs was 1984.
Acuña and Betts were the two best players in baseball last year by bWAR, and they might be the best players again in 2024. But a Triple Crown will remain out of their grasp for as long as they are leading off. And considering how stacked their lineups look on paper, why would the Braves or Dodgers change anything
Check out the full list of candidates that MLB.com listed.
How long until pitchers and catchers report?
35 days. Atlanta's expected to ask pitchers and catchers to report on Monday, February 12th, in advance of their first spring training game on February 24th against the Tampa Bay Rays. An official announcement of the reporting date will come in January.
Here's the odds for the top 10 teams to win the 2024 World Series according to FanDuel
Despite Atlanta acquiring Sale a week ago, there were no moves in the gambling lines to win the 2024 World Series, with LA still being the favorites.
Los Angeles Dodgers - +380
Atlanta Braves - +650
New York Yankees - +850
Houston Astros - +900
Texas Rangers - +1000
Philadelphia Phillies - +1000
Baltimore Orioles - +1600
Toronto Blue Jays - +1800
Seattle Mariners - +1800
Minnesota Twins - +2500
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