Braves waited for top prospect to 'get hot' before he gets called up against Cincinnati

Count Wednesday as a second opening day for the Braves, as they are calling up super prospect Ronald Acuna. He’s expected in the lineup for Atlanta’s third game of the series in Cincinnati Wednesday night.

The Braves wanted the 20-year-old Acuna to get hot before he was promoted. Acuna was 2-for-4 with a walk Tuesday night in Gwinnett’s game at Rochester. His average was up to .232 for the season, after hitting .333 (11-33) in his last eight games. Acuna had hit .139 (5-36) with 14 strikeouts in his first nine games for the Stripers.

Acuna will replace Preston Tucker in Atlanta’s left field. Tucker has hit three home runs with 18 RBI in his 22 games, but his season average has dipped to .254. Tucker has hit just .192 (10-52) in his last 17 games.

The Braves signed Acuna as an international league free agent almost four years ago out of Venezuela. He rose to stardom as a prospect last year when he played at three levels of the minor leagues and dominated each one. Between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, Acuna hit .325 with a .374 on base percentage, 21 home runs, 82 runs batted in, 31 doubles and 44 stolen bases.

Baseball America named Acuna its minor league player of the year. They also named Acuna as baseball’s best prospect, as did ESPN and Baseball Prospectus.

“He can really do everything on a field,” Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in spring training.

The Braves, now 12-10 after losing the first two games of the series to the lowly Reds, lead the National League in runs scored. Manager Brian Snitker will likely start Acuna lower in the order until Acuna proves he can hit MLB pitching, but the expectation is Acuna will soon be in the heart of the lineup.

Veteran Jose Bautista is also expected to get the call to Atlanta in the next few days. The Braves said earlier this week Bautista will take over at third base once he is promoted. Atlanta signed the former Toronto star last Wednesday.

Acuna hit .432 in spring training, with four home runs and 11 RBI in 44 at bats. The Braves elected to start him back in Triple-A to gain an extra year of control to his contract. However, Acuna’s slow start delayed his debut until now.

Many have compared Acuna to former Braves star Andruw Jones, who came up as a 19-year-old in 1996 and was recently named to the Braves Hall of Fame. Acuna is Atlanta’s best prospect since Jason Heyward debuted in 2010.

Acuna’s promotion is another important step in Atlanta’s rebuilding process, which started three years ago.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 6:24 AM with the headline "Braves waited for top prospect to 'get hot' before he gets called up against Cincinnati."