Acuna, Fried named AFL Players of Week

Ronald Acuña Jr. has been lavished with praise and awards all season, but this week he's being honored in conjuction with a teammate.
MLB.com's No. 5 prospect was named Arizona Fall League Player of the Week while left-hander Max Fried, his Peoria teammate and Braves No. 9 prospect, earned Pitcher of the Week honors.

Acuna enjoyed a big week, hitting .475 in 21 at-bats with 12 runs scored and three home runs, the first of which went to the opposite field against Pirates No. 2 prospectMitch Keller while the others came in the same game.
His success this week adds to a season that saw him bat .325/.374/.522 and jump from Class A Advanced Florida to Triple-A Gwinnett. The 19-year-old outfielder steadily improved his numbers at every level to earn a MiLBY award for Breakout Player, and he was named to the AFL's Fall Stars Game on Monday.

Fried, on the other hand, regressed this season after going 8-7 with a 3.93 ERA in 2016, his first season back on the mound after missing most of 2014 and all of 2015 following Tommy John surgery. His 2017 numbers included a 2-11 record, a 5.54 ERA and a 91-to-45 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but he earned a late-season promotion to Atlanta and went 1-1 with a 3.81 ERA in nine appearances, four of which were starts.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound left-hander has used that Major League success as a springboard into the AFL. His three wins and 23 strikeouts over 19 innings lead the star-studded circuit and he's improved his control, walking five and allowing just nine hits.
Fried has struck out at least five batters in three of his four outings in addition to holding opponents scoreless in three of four starts.
He was originally acquired by the Braves in 2014 when they traded outfielder Justin Upton to the Padres.