The Atlanta Braves have sent their top prospect Ronald Acuna to Minor League Camp. This means he will not start the season in the Major League squad and will therefore probably not get his first full year of service time credit this season. The Braves get an extra year of control over Acuna.
To make this perfect, the Braves Acuna must be available up to at least 13. April in the Minors. He wouldn’t be a free agent until 2024.
He is the sixth player the Braves have sent to Minor League Camp and will probably start the season for Triple-A Gwinnett. Last year he beat .344 with 9 home runs in 54 games.
“We feel it’s the best overall, from a philosophical point of view, if he gets a little more development time,” said General Manager Alex Anthopoulos, explaining the decision: “There is no manual on how to approach a player’s development. They’re not all the same.”
Although the move was expected, Acuna led the Grapefruit with a strike average of .432 and came out on 4 home runs, 11 RBI and 4 stolen bases in 16 games in spring training. A .512 OBP and a .727 Slugging Percentage were added.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.