Sports

Top Prospect Acuna Made Braves Debut Wednesday

A Gwinnett Striper to start the 2018 season, top prospect Ronald Acuna Jr. will start in left field for the Braves Wednesday in Cincinnati.

ATLANTA, GA β€” A Gwinnett Striper to start the 2018 baseball season, top prospect Ronald Acuna Jr., 20, will start in left field for the Atlanta Braves Wednesday in Cincinnati. He is batting sixth and wearing No. 13. Acuna was the MLB Pipeline's No. 2 overall prospect.

Acuna climbed from Class A to Triple-A in 2017 by hitting .325 with 21 home runs, 82 RBIs and 44 stolen bases. The feat earned him MVP of the Arizona Fall League. Braves fans were salivating after his spring training performance, batting .432 with four homers, four stolen bases and a 1.247 OPS in 16 games.

As a Gwinnett Striper this month, Acuna didn't really heat up, hitting .232 with one homer and two RBIs in 69 at-bats.

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The Atlanta Braves will take on the Cincinnati Reds today at 6:40 p.m. on Fox Sports South East. The Braves and Reds seem to be going in different directions for the season. The Braves hold a record of 12-10, while the Reds are in the cellar of the NL Central with a record of 5-18.

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