Jace Frederick - Baseballs New Wave: the Young Superstars Taking Over the Game

Baseballs New Wave: The Young Superstars Taking Over the Game 2019 by Press Room Editions. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Edition

First Printing, 2019

Book design by Sarah Taplin

Cover design by Sarah Taplin

Photographs : Julie Jacobson/AP Images, cover (left), 1 (left), back cover, 102; Mark J. Terrill/AP Images, cover (center), 1 (center); Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire/AP Images, cover (right), 1 (right), 40; Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP, 4, 121 (top right); John Minchillo/AP Images, 10; Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire, 12, 14, 121 (top center); Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire/AP Images, 18, 78; Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press/AP Images, 24; David J. Phillip/AP Images, 26, 31; Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire/AP Images, 34; Eric Gay/AP Images, 45, 121 (top left); Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire/AP Images, 48; Kathy Willens/AP Images, 53, 58; Tomasso DeRosa/AP Images, 61; Tony Dejak/AP Images, 66, 9495; Carlos Osorio/AP Images, 69; Joshua Lavallee/Icon Sportswire, 74; Kyodo/AP Images, 82, 104; Jae C. Hong/AP Images, 86, 121 (bottom); Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire/AP Images, 90; Duane Burleson/AP Images, 98; Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire/AP Images, 109; Kyusung Gong/AP Images, 112; Ted S. Warren/AP Images, 116

Design Elements : Shutterstock

Press Box Books, an imprint of Press Room Editions, Inc.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018952201

ISBN

978-1-63494-052-8 (paperback)

978-1-63494-064-1 (epub)

978-1-63494-076-4 (hosted ebook)

Distributed by North Star Editions, Inc.

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Printed in the United States of America

Chapter 1

Ronald Acua Jr.

F ew players were more popular with Atlanta Braves fans than Chipper Jones. So when Jones was asked about Ronald Acua Jr., the teams 20-year-old left fielder, during spring training of 2018, people listened.

Hes as good a prospect as Ive seen, Jones said.

It did not take long to see what all the excitement was about. Just one week into his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, the 6-foot, 180-pound Venezuelan prospect had proved he belonged. Debuting in April 2018, Acua produced 13 hits in his first eight games, including five doubles and two home runs. He became the first player in Braves history to tally five extra-base hits in his first five games. By seasons end, the player who was barely known just one season earlier was the leagues Rookie of the Year.

Scouted as early as 14 years old, Acua signed with the Braves for $100,000 in 2014. That was a modest figure compared with the games most sought-after young international players. And even one year before his MLB debut, Acua remained relatively unknown. When MLB Pipeline came out with its Top 100 Prospects lists in 2017, the young Venezuelan was nowhere to be found.

The lack of expectations created a lack of pressure that Acua seems to savor.

When I signed I wasnt really considered a highly touted prospect, so now its even better, he said in 2018. I feel the same wayIve never really had that pressure.

Acua opened the 2017 season at the Class-A Advanced level. That is three steps below the major leagues. By the end of the year, he was obliterating Triple-A pitching and was widely considered one of the best prospects in baseball.

Prospect tools are graded on a 20 to 80 scale, with a 20 being the worst and 80 the best. A grade of 60 or higher is considered above average. Acua entered the majors with all five toolshitting for average, hitting for power, running, throwing, and fieldingrated at 60 or higher. Those tools were on full display in 2017. Acua hit .325 with 21 home runs and 82 runs batted in (RBIs) to go with 44 stolen bases in 139 games played across three minor league levels.

(Acua) is a better athlete than everybody else, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson said. Its pretty hard to explain. When you watch him, you can just tell there is a difference. Whether you know a lot about baseball or know nothing, you can see that guy is doing something right.

Acua has strong baseball bloodlines. His uncle, Jose Escobar, and many of his cousins reached the big leagues. His grandfather played minor league baseball. So did his father, Ronald Acua Sr. The elder Acua swears he had the talent to make it to the major leagues. Instead, he bounced around various minor league levels, never advancing past Double-A.

That hasnt been a problem with Acua Jr., who his father said was more talented and disciplined than I ever was. Acua Jr. also had the benefit of coming from a family filled with pro baseball players.

He was born with talent, Acua Sr. said. But the little things that you do to polish that talent, he learned from all of us.

Mentorship has played a large role in Acuas rise. Playing a spring training game in 2018 against the Detroit Tigers, Acua reached first base on a single. While there he started talking to Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Also from Venezuela, Cabrera grew up approximately two hours away from Acuas hometown of La Guaira. Acua had watched Cabrera as a child and still admires him to this day.

Air Acua

While in Triple-A, Acua hit a home run in each of the first two games of a series. Prior to the third game, teammate Rio Ruiz issued Acua a challenge. If Acua, the leadoff hitter, opened the game with a home run, Ruiz would buy him a pair of Air Jordans. Challenge accepted. And Acua indeed crushed the first pitch of the game out of the park. Ruiz delivered on his promise, giving Acua a pair of black and white Jordans, size 11. Theres nothing not special about him, Ruiz said.

Weve always kind of had that relationship, Acua said. He just kind of gave me advice on all the small things and all the little things to do, especially once you get to the big leagues. The things you need to make sure you take care of and the things you do well and do right, things that will sustain your career as you move forward in the big leagues.

It doesnt take much knowledge of the game to be impressed by the way the ball jumps off Acuas bat. Just ask Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey. In the second inning of his second career game, Acua took Bailey yard. He launched a slider four rows deep into the upper deck at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Acuas first major league home run traveled an estimated 416 feet, leaving the bat at a speed of 105.8 miles per hour. He ended the season with a .293 batting average and 26 homers.

The ball explodes off his bat, Jones said. Hes got a great bat path. His bat is in the (hitting) zone a long time. You cant teach that. Its God given. Whoever taught him (did) very well.

Its when Acua puts the bat on the ball that the real fun begins. Few can match Acuas speed on the base paths. That showed during his major league debut. Acua found himself on first base with the Braves trailing the Reds 43 in the eighth. Then, on a sharp single to left field, Acua made it all the way to third. It took him 5.81 seconds to take two bases. Acua went on to score the tying run as the Braves won 54.