Ronald Acuna is now a better hitter than prime Mike Trout.

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SJ24 said:
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Random thought. But if WWIII were to breakout, would sports players go to war like so many greats did in WWII....unless drafted, I doubt it.
 
HOT OFF THE PRESSES

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...zing-start-mean-ready-take-game-another-level

Acuna's numbers through 13 games are preposterous: .442/.492/1.000, seven home runs, 14 extra-base hits, 14 RBIs, 17 runs, 52 total bases, three stolen bases and more than a few bat flips. We entered the season anticipating that a trio of young superstars -- Acuna, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto -- would challenge Mike Trout and Mookie Betts for the title of "best player in the game." The early lead: Acuna with a very loud exclamation point.
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Acuna, however, had one serious flaw in his game: strikeouts. He had an obvious area where he could improve. He struck out 188 times in 156 games in 2019 and 60 times in 46 games in 2020. He didn't necessarily lack plate discipline, because he ranked in the 99th percentile in walk rate, but he hit .250 largely because he ranked in the 14th percentile in strikeout rate.

Thirteen games into 2021 he has cut way down on the swing-and-miss, and that's why he's now hitting for power and average. His swing-and-miss rate was 29.9% in 2020, but it's down to 16.3% so far in 2021. His chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone is down from 19.8% to 14.6%. This is how you go from having elite bat speed and power to becoming one of the best hitters in the game.
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In 2021, Acuna is hitting .421/.450/.737 on inner-third pitches.
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https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/04/16/ronald-acuna-jr-atlanta-braves-the-opener

"Well, he went into the offseason and he focused on those drills. And Day 1 of spring training, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. That is a whole different swing,'" Seitzer said. "I saw all spring he was getting to pitches that he hasn’t been able to get to, by just fouling them off. I don’t need balls to get crushed in tough quadrants of the strike zone, but to be able to at least foul them off and spoil them to give you another shot. He was able to do that this spring, and I was like, 'Holy cow, this has got a chance to be fun.'"
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Acuña’s whiff rate has nearly been cut in half since last season, from 29.9% to 15.9%. His contact percentage on pitches in the zone has accordingly risen from 73.7% to 84.9%.

As is the case with most young hitters, Acuña has also developed better plate discipline. His chase rate has virtually been sliced in half, from 20% to 10.1%.
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64 plate appearances

BB rate of 11% and K rate of 14%.

Leads the world in homers.

267 wRC+

He's likely better than Trout now, but the conservative nature of baseball and the assholishness of guys like Super, Carp, and Matt will make people doubt.

Acuna is still just 23.

If he makes a similar jump next year, he's Ted Williams.
 
SJ24 said:
64 plate appearances

BB rate of 11% and K rate of 14%.

Leads the world in homers.

267 wRC+

He's likely better than Trout now, but the conservative nature of baseball and the assholishness of guys like Super, Carp, and Matt will make people doubt.

Acuna is still just 23.

If he makes a similar jump next year, he's Ted Williams.
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Just stop. No hitter will ever be as good as Ted Williams.
 
thewupk said:
Just stop. No hitter will ever be as good as Ted Williams.
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I highly doubt Ronald would halve his K rate again.

But the statement is correct.

We are likely seeing Acuna at the height of his powers now, though. The best player in the world. An all-timer.

He has gone through a punctuated equilibrium style jump at the plate in terms of discipline.

It is really fun to watch.
 
The funny thing is, that No one here has doubted his greatness nor his torrid start. But only that one should be careful Anointing him to all time greatest based off small sample of data to start a season.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
The funny thing is, that No one here has doubted his greatness nor his torrid start. But only that one should be careful Anointing him to all time greatest based off small sample of data to start a season.
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Trout is not the all-time greatest.

He has been the best for several years, though.

Ronald is better now.
 
Trout put up two 10 fWAR seasons at 20 & 21. i know SJ was like 6 years old then but until Ronald puts up a couple 10+, 9+ fWAR seasons, i’m not going to call him better than Trout.
 
Trout has ridiculous WAR numbers because he's strictly a CF.

And good luck with your advanced defensive metrics. They don't exist.

Trout is basically peak Eric Davis for a longer time period. Davis of course rotated throughout the outfield, dampening his WAR total, which you treat as Gospel.

Now I have an extremely high opinion of ED, so don't take this as an insult, Trout fan boys.

Trout is fantastic. GOAT he is not.
 
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