GDT 4/2/26: Braves @ Diamondbacks - Ramping Up in the Desert

Ronald didn’t suddenly have a major drop off in bat speed at age 28. I might be worried if this was a trend from last year after his injury, but it wasn’t.
 
If there is one player I am not (currently) worried about, it's RA. He was lighting up high EVs in ST and the WBC. I don't really care if the talent level wasn't always the same. You aren't doing that if you have declined that much.

It's probably a mechanical issue. And, we've had so few at bats so far, 1 or 2 "off" swings can still have a fairly significant impact on these numbers. Also, it should be noted that his bat speed is STILL in the 84th percentile despite the "decline" we've seen in barely over 2 dozen at bats.
 
It should also be noted that Acuna posted the fastest home to first sprint of the entire WBC at over 29 ft/sec. Yet his current average sprint speed in 2026 is only 25 ft/sec, which ranks in the 16th percentile.

Maybe we don't breathe too much into a weeks worth of data?
 
Carp said:
If there is one player I am not (currently) worried about, it's RA. He was lighting up high EVs in ST and the WBC. I don't really care if the talent level wasn't always the same. You aren't doing that if you have declined that much.

It's probably a mechanical issue. And, we've had so few at bats so far, 1 or 2 "off" swings can still have a fairly significant impact on these numbers. Also, it should be noted that his bat speed is STILL in the 84th percentile despite the "decline" we've seen in barely over 2 dozen at bats.
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Or, Acuña is still ramping up.
 
msstate7 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2040153723595379057

His numbers are horrible
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He’s pitched fairly well the past two years in the hitter-friendly PCL. MLBTR notes “he features mid-90s velocity and a five-pitch mix.” Fangraphs projects him more of a 4.80-5.00 fip pitcher in 2026 than the abysmal MLB numbers he’s put up heretofore. And maybe the Braves feel like they can optimize him—the Angels aren’t exactly known as a gold-standard developmental organization?

Still, probably just emergency mop-up depth who’ll eat innings in Gwinnett unless/until a need arises.
 
UNCBlue012 said:
The Angels are a bottom-three organization at developing pitchers. It's a totally fine flyer. If it doesn't work, no biggie.
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For sure. And the flyer only cost $250k in International Bonus space, which doesn’t matter for the Braves because they’re going to blow the bulk of their nut on one huge bust and then sign three other dudes for $25k total that become top prospects.
 
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