I don't think he'll hit 20 home runs his first season.
It is more likely he hits 20 HR than gets 20 SBs, but 20/20 isn’t an outlandish prediction.
Bryce Harper had 13 HRs his rookie year in 395 PA. Slash line of .273/.344/.423. I'd be happy with something similar from Acuna.
Bryce Harper had 13 HRs his rookie year in 395 PA. Slash line of .273/.344/.423. I'd be happy with something similar from Acuna.
I take the under on .825 OPS for Acuna...who wants the over
Mike Trout had 30 HR and 49 SB in 639 PA (139 games) his rookie year at the same age as Acuna. Slash line of .326/.399/.564.
You guys would have laughed at anyone who said Trout would do that. Enscheff would have laughed mercilessly.
With the juiced ball, 20 homers isn't that outlandish if you assume he's up within the first month. And honestly keeping him down any longer than after we gain that year of service time doesn't make much sense. Slugging as a whole is getting back to steroid level production so people are once again are going to have to adjust their perception of raw stats. Homerun totals have already blown past it as 2017 saw 400 more homers than any other year previously.
And he would have been right to do that. Anyone predicting Trout level success for a rookie is going to be wrong 99.99% of the time. And lets not forget that Trout did have 135 at bats the year before his official rookie season where he was less than impressive. .220/.281/.390 isn't what you think of when you think of Trout, but that is exactly what he did over his first 135 at bats. Can you imagine the meltdown on this board if that was Acuna's stat line by midseason?
I'm a fan of Acuna's potential but comparing a guy to Trout just because of stats is absurd, then saying he's going to hit .300 (not sure that this was said here but it was said by Grey on a fantasy baseball site) or will go 30/30 is also ridiculous.
Look, he's likely to be on the upper echelon of 20 year olds in MLB, just unsure he'll be near the top for the modern day. I think his OPS is in the .770-800 range when he comes. He does have .300, .900+ potential but I do not see that coming in 2018.
And I am definitely not a pozzy.
I think we suck outside of Freeman, Gohara, and Ozzie. Maybe Soroka and Wright one day.
Lol.
Acunas are special. Braves may never see another talent like this in my lifetime.