Acuña Is Heating Up When It Matters Most For the Braves

After an up-and-down season, Acuña's bat is heating up exactly when the Braves need it most — and exactly when history says it should.

Acuna continues his hot stretch in the early days of September | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ronald Acuña Jr. is heating up in September, and it's exactly what the Atlanta Braves have been waiting for. Acuña has missed 53 games this season due to injury, and outside of a solid May in which he hit .286 with five home runs, his offensive season has been underwhelming.

That's what makes the calendar flipping to September such a welcome sight. Through the first four games of the month, Acuña is 8-for-18 with two homers, five RBIs and four runs scored — a .444 average to go with a 1.278 slugging percentage. This includes a massive 450-homer off of Zach Wheeler on Saturday night.

The value of Acuña's defense has been apparent all year; his arm strength alone makes even the most aggressive baserunners think twice about taking the extra 90 feet. But now that the bat is coming around too, which couldn't come soon enough for a Braves team that is trying to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL Central crown. It feels like the Acuña we know is back.

It helps that this kind of surge isn't out of character for him. September has historically been a strong month for Acuña over his nine-year career — he owns a career mark of .282 with 41 home runs and 97 RBIs in the season's final month, trailing only his career numbers in August.

Even during his uneven stretches this season, Acuña has continued to rank near the top of Major League Baseball in bat speed and exit velocity, a reminder that when he makes contact, he still wreaks havoc on the baseball.

September is only a few days old, but it looks like Ronald Acuña Jr. is rounding back into form right on schedule. Green Day once sang, "Wake me up when September ends" — but judging by the way Acuña is swinging the bat right now, hitting snooze on this month is the last thing he wants.

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