Ronald Acuna Jr. is arguably the most must-watch player in baseball right now. The Atlanta Braves star is playing the best baseball of his career and leading a stellar Braves roster toward another division title.

Last year, Acuna was visibly not the same player he was before a torn ACL prematurely ended his 2021 season. Acuna told Alden Gonzalez that he felt pressured to get back to the player he was as soon as possible.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself, like, ‘I have to get back to being who I was before,' and I think that influenced a lot,” Acuna said. “Things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. The knee — there were days when it wouldn't hurt, I'd go out and play a hundred percent and I'd tell myself, ‘I'm back,' but then the next day the pain would return. It just kept going like that.”

The Braves outfielder also said he doubted if he could even return to form after the injury.

“The pain was not easy. The operation also was not easy. So I doubted many times. I would tell my friends, ‘I don't know if I'll be able to play that way again.' Every time I would go play, I doubted,” Acuna said.

Through 50 games this season, Acuna has a .332 batting average, .995 OPS, and 26 extra-base hits. He leads the NL in stolen bases and the entirety of Major League Baseball in runs scored. The Braves have the best record in the NL at 31-19.

The Braves won the World Series in 2021 despite Ronald Acuna Jr's absence. They're one of the favorites to win it in 2023, with the top NL MVP candidate leading the charge.