What the Atlanta Braves have done without Ronald Acuna Jr. is mind-blowing. Acuna tore his ACL in July which ended his season, but he led the National League in runs scored and wins above replacement(WAR) at 4.2.

It is crazy to say, but if Acuna didn't go down, there's a chance the Braves wouldn't be in the World Series.

Acuna sustained his injury on July 10th while tracking down a ball in deep right field against the Miami Marlins. His season ended that day. Prior to that, he slashed .283/.394/.596. He added 24 home runs, 52 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He's an electric player who can do everything on the diamond.

The Braves then added Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall at the July trade deadline. The production the team got from these three is more than what Acuna brings. The only reason for that is because there are three of them, and only one of Ronald. Acuna is arguably the best player in baseball, so replacing him with one other player is impossible. This is shown by the fact that Acuna had the highest WAR in baseball before his injury.

The Braves' All-Star centerfielder was seen telling Alex Bregman an update of his status before Tuesday's World Series opener in Houston. He shared in Spanish that he's aiming for a May 2022 return.

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Atlanta is currently up 1-0 in their seven-game series against the Houston Astros. They will look to take a 2-0 lead in Wednesday night's Game 2 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. A team that made the World Series without arguably the best player in baseball has to be excited about the future.

This is the Braves' first World Series appearance since 1999.