In 2023, Ronald Acuna Jr. made sure that his injury woes were nothing but a thing of the past in the minds of everyone. After an uneven 2022 season, the Atlanta Braves right fielder popped off for the best season of his career in 2023, making history by being the founding member of the 40 home run, 70 stolen base club. And in the process of doing so, Acuna, despite stiff competition from the likes of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, took home the NL MVP award in unanimous fashion.
It's difficult to envision how Acuna improves upon his stellar 2023 effort. But the Braves right fielder is only 26 years old, so he truly might not be done improving. In fact, Acuna believes that there are no limits to what he's able to achieve on the diamond in 2024, so long as he gives it his all once again.
“I’m trying to be better than last year,” Acuna told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “I don’t know, but everything is possible. When I play, I don’t think (about it) too much. And when the season’s over, I’ll see what I did.”
Not too many players can improve upon a season where they blasted 41 home runs, stole 73 bases, and hit for a 1.012 OPS — all of which added up to an 8.3 WAR, per Fangraphs. If one would take a look at Ronald Acuna Jr.'s track record, sure he has been an excellent player throughout his Braves career, but his 2023 season is the outlier in his career thus far.
One of the factors that fueled Acuna's MVP season was the steep drop in his strikeout rate. His strikeout rate ranged from 23.6 percent to 29.7 percent in his first five professional seasons; in 2023, he was able to cut that in half, percentage point-wise, and his batting average on balls in play remained steady, allowing him to tally more base hits than ever before.
Maintaining this level of contact will be crucial for the Braves star in his bid to improve upon his MVP season. Given how driven he is to avoid career stagnation, it won't be a wise idea to bet against him even though he's managing a bit of a knock at the moment.
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