Atlanta Braves Waiting Patiently to Bring up Ronald Acuna Jr.
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Braves are waiting to bring Ronald Acuna Jr. up to the team at the opportune time. Though their reasoning makes sense it has sparked a lot of frustration among fans and the always correct Twitter GM’s.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is as close to a can’t miss prospect as a team can get. He has all the tools along with great flair and attitude to match. The time has come and gone since the Braves ensured one more season of service time from Acuna, making fans wonder why the delay in calling him up?
Only adding to the speculation is the recent addition and expected quick call-up of Jose Bautista. The two moves, however, are totally different and shouldn’t be compared.
Acuna is a young up-and-coming star who will have all the pressure and expectations resting on his shoulders. Bautista, on the other hand, is a quick fix signing for a power-challenged lineup.
Not calling up Acuna isn’t even related to his slow start in Triple-A as much as it has to do with patience. Timing is everything both in life and in sports. Picking your spots to make exciting roster moves is an important and underrated strategy.
Preston Tucker has played well in left field piling up 17 early hits most of which resulted in clutch RBI’s. Tucker is holding down left field for now and buying the Braves time to decipher just how ready Acuna is.
Once they decide he is ready waiting for the right timing is still important. While fans are anxious to see him they are even more anxious to see the Braves nice start continue.
Waiting until the Braves are in a bit of a slump to call up Acuna would be a savvy move. As we have seen in the past bringing up young energy infusing players like Acuna can help break teams out of slumps.
Picking such a spot and using patience allowing Acuna to get going in Triple-A is the right move.
Patience is key in baseball whether at the plate working a pitch count, or in the front office deciding when is the right time to make a roster move. The time will come soon enough for Acunabe added to the lineup. You can be sure when he does finally make break the roster he will be there to stay.