Atlanta Braves Slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. Begins Rehab Assignment, Eyes Mid-May Return
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The fantasy market finally got an update on Ronald Acuna’s rehab assignment. The Braves sent him to their rookie complex on Tuesday, but his game was rained out against the FCL Pirates. Based on the start of his process back to Atlanta, Acuna could be back in the majors in 10 days or so, a month later than I expected.
Ronald Acuña Jr. starts his road back to the Braves tonight.
— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2025
He'll begin a rehab stint with the Braves’ Florida Complex League team Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/XlgfgerYAK
The Braves lost Acuna for the season in 2021 on July 10th with a torn ACL in his right knee. His success over 82 games projected over the entire season came to 142 runs, 47 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases, which would have ranked him first among hitters in FPGscore (13.51).
In 2022, he returned to action on April 28th after sitting out the first 19 games. Acuna ran over his 22 starts (.284/13/2/10/9 over 81 at-bats), but he struck out 32.3% of the time. Groin, quad, and foot injuries led to 12 missed games in May and June. His best production came over the final two months (.275/31/7/27/7 over 204 at-bats). Acuna stole 20 of his 29 bases before the All-Star break. His bat underperformed expectations (.266/71/15/50/29 over 467 at-bats), with a lower walk rate (9.9 – 13.6 in 2021 and 18.8 in 2020).
The Braves’ top player led the National League in at-bats (643), runs (149), hits (217), and stolen bases (73) in 2023. He hit .298 or higher every month, with his best production coming in September (.340/29/11/23/11 over 106 at-bats).
Last year, he had a career-high groundball rate (51.1), with a further decline in his fly-ball rate (27.3) and weakness in his HR/FB rate (10.5 – 24.0 in 2023 and 12.8 in 2022). His exit velocity (92.2 mph) and hard-hit rate (47.6) weren’t that far off his career averages (92.3/50.8).
There was something clearly wrong with his knee or knees based on his lost power (four home runs and 15 RBIs) over his first 192 at-bats. Acuna had a dismal RBI rate (10) and a sharp decline in his average hit rate (1.458). His left knee (torn ACL) gave way on May 26th, followed by his surgery on June 7th.
The Braves gave Acuna more recovery time from his last knee injury, hoping for a more productive bat. He will have missed about one-third of the season based on his expected return to Atlanta. In 2021, over 82 games, Acuna hit .283 with 72 runs, 24 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases over 297 at-bats. The fantasy market will take 80% of those stats in 2025.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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