GDT 5/16/23: Braves @ Rangers

Ronald Acuña Jr. walloped his 10th home run of the season and also singled on Tuesday in the Braves' loss to the Rangers.
Acuña absolutely crushed the ball tonight; his four batted balls in play clocked in at 115.6, 114.8, 110.6 and 106.6 mph, respectively. The softest of those was a 405-foot fly out that would have been a homer in several parks. The 25-year-old fantasy superstar is having an incredible season, batting .348/.438/.604 with 38 runs scored, 10 homers, 26 RBI and 17 stolen bases through 42 games.
 
msstate7 said:
Maybe, I just don't see it. Jiminez is a 5th-6th inning guy with k9 over 12 and bb9 barely over 2. His babip is .382.
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K and BB numbers are good but there are some less great numbers. His statcast numbers concern me. We're at 41 events now on statcast which is starting to get to the range of reliable data. His average EV has jumped from 88.6 last year to 92 this year. That's a very bad thing.

His barrel% is way up too. 7.8% last year to 12.2% this year. Hard hit % is up from 39.7% to an awful 51.2.

His velocity is also a little concerning. His fastball is down a full MPH from last year. His slider is down 2 MPH.

So while he's still missing bats and is in the zone, he's making more mistakes that are getting hammered. He's had some bad luck but he's been getting legitimately smoked.
 
Don't get me wrong, I hate losing, but it feels good to not get upset after every loss. Personally, I'm just not worried about this team. They've lost five out of six games but each game has been close and one inning sealed the game. If we were getting beat 10-4 I'd be concerned, but 5-2, 3-0, 5-2, 6-5 and 7-4 aren't god-awful. My only real concern is the offense is playing like ****, but they're also hitting the crap out of the ball with no luck. Dunning was absolutely pummeled last night but only allowed ONE run. Stretches like this happen, unfortunately.
 
UNCBlue012 said:
Don't get me wrong, I hate losing, but it feels good to not get upset after every loss. Personally, I'm just not worried about this team. They've lost five out of six games but each game has been close and one inning sealed the game. If we were getting beat 10-4 I'd be concerned, but 5-2, 3-0, 5-2, 6-5 and 7-4 aren't god-awful. My only real concern is the offense is playing like ****, but they're also hitting the crap out of the ball with no luck. Dunning was absolutely pummeled last night but only allowed ONE run. Stretches like this happen, unfortunately.
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It certainly helps that the rest of the division has been trash.
 
We should all be crying over the real problem so far: The crappy bullpen. Rotation has not been a problem quite yet but catastrophe is coming with the rotation. As I see it the offense is not yet a concern just too many bad streaks from crucial at bats, i.e. RISP.
 
The Pen will find itself. the offense is in just one of those periods where they are smashing outs and not getting hits with guys on. That will come around. We all like to bitch.. me especially.. but we all know this team will be 90+ wins and in the playoffs when the dust settles... but until then lets have some fun bitching about how awful we are..

My only question is when are we releasing JJ and bringing up Malloy..
 
I must have watched Ronald's last 5 homers a dozen times each. So beautiful how he generates that kind of contact on various pitch types. He's actually due a couple of wall scrapers. When was the last time he hit one shorter than 420?
He's got it in him to do something special this year. And I don't mean MVP, I mean truly historical. 50/50, 10+ WAR type stuff.


So far, he looks like a matured player. He'll always have that exuberance, but he's cut down on the bone-headed poor risk-reward plays. His plate discipline has also taken a leap forward. He's on pace for barely 100K...and the same amount of walks!

I've been thinking for a while that Ronald and Ozuna may both be hidden beneficiaries of the pitch clock. They're both high-energy guys, always bouncing around, barely able to contain their hyperactivity...Ronald with his overall exuberance. Ozuna with his constant practice swings in between pitches. Sometimes, it felt in the past like they needed to swing every now and then just to get the built-up energy out of their system. Didn't matter if the pitch was close (Ozuna was far worse, of course). Now that they know they'll see a pitch every 15 seconds or so, however, they don't have that urge so much and can be more selective with their swings.
 
Strike3urout said:
I must have watched Ronald's last 5 homers a dozen times each. So beautiful how he generates that kind of contact on various pitch types. He's actually due a couple of wall scrapers. When was the last time he hit one shorter than 420?
He's got it in him to do something special this year. And I don't mean MVP, I mean truly historical. 50/50, 10+ WAR type stuff.


So far, he looks like a matured player. He'll always have that exuberance, but he's cut down on the bone-headed poor risk-reward plays. His plate discipline has also taken a leap forward. He's on pace for barely 100K...and the same amount of walks!

I've been thinking for a while that Ronald and Ozuna may both be hidden beneficiaries of the pitch clock. They're both high-energy guys, always bouncing around, barely able to contain their hyperactivity...Ronald with his overall exuberance. Ozuna with his constant practice swings in between pitches. Sometimes, it felt in the past like they needed to swing every now and then just to get the built-up energy out of their system. Didn't matter if the pitch was close (Ozuna was far worse, of course). Now that they know they'll see a pitch every 15 seconds or so, however, they don't have that urge so much and can be more selective with their swings.
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Almost had one last night. Would of been a homer in like a 3rd of the parks.

But yeah, Ronnie has been incredible this year. 40-40 has been done 4 times. 30-50 has been done twice. Current pace is 30-60 which hasn't been done. Unless he goes on a real HR binge I don't see him getting to 50. But going 40-60 would be wild as hell. A little over 25% through the season and he's the clear frontrunner for MVP. His power speed combo is among the best we've ever seen. Bonds and early Eric Davis levels.
 
Ronnie's game from last year to this year is just insane. I understand the knee not being 100%, but the level of drop off from that is astounding. Makes you wonder how even the little injuries can affect guys
 
bravesfanMatt said:
Ronnie's game from last year to this year is just insane. I understand the knee not being 100%, but the level of drop off from that is astounding. Makes you wonder how even the little injuries can affect guys
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He seems to be finding a balance between attempted steals and hitting for power. Looks like he can do either whenever he wants.
 
Biggest change is he’s crushing fastballs inner half. He would get jammed at times on 91 inside. Now he’s crushing 98 inside. He’s made some tweaks that have paid off.
 
atl717 said:
Biggest change is he’s crushing fastballs inner half. He would get jammed at times on 91 inside. Now he’s crushing 98 inside. He’s made some tweaks that have paid off.
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personally, I think it is his ability to stay in ABs.. he will get down 0-2 and where you know Olson will K from there, Acuna battles to get a pitch he likes and hits it hard for the most part.
 
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