Former Rome Brave Ronald Acuña Jr. Named Rookie of the Year
The Rome Braves and Atlanta Braves congratulate OF Ronald Acuña Jr. on winning the 2018 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award. Acuña Jr. captured 27 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), which has given the award nationally since 1947. Acuña Jr.,
The Rome Braves and Atlanta Braves congratulate OF Ronald Acuña Jr. on winning the 2018 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award. Acuña Jr. captured 27 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), which has given the award nationally since 1947. Acuña Jr., 20, finished his first major league season hitting .293 (127-for-433) with a team-high 26 home runs, a .917 OPS and 16 steals in 111 games. He became one of five players in baseball history to reach 26 home runs in a season prior to his 21st birthday and is the 10th player in history to have 25 home runs and 15 steals in his rookie season and the first since Mike Trout in 2012. He becomes the eighth Braves player to win the Rookie of the Year award and the first since former Rome Brave Craig Kimbrel did it in 2011. The last Braves position player to be named Rookie of the Year was SS Rafael Furcal in 2000.
"First of all I would like to give thanks to God, my family, my parents and to all my teammates who've always supported me from the first day that I got the call to the big leagues," Acuña Jr. said. "This award represents all our hard work as a team this season." The 6-foot-0, 205-pound native of La Guaira, Venezuela, who is currently playing with the MLB team that is competing in the Japan All-Star Series, appeared in all 68 games for the Braves after the All-Star break, and hit .322 (85-for-264) with 19 home runs, 54 runs scored, a .403 on-base percentage and a .625 slugging percentage. His 85 hits were the second most among all players in the majors post-break, while his 54 runs tied for the second most and his 19 home runs were tied for fourth most. His 1.028 OPS was the fifth highest.
Acuña Jr. entered 2018 as the No. 2 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com and began the season with Triple-A Gwinnett. The club selected his contract from the Stripers on April 25 and he made his MLB debut that night at Cincinnati at the age of 20 years, 128 days. He became the youngest player to debut for the Braves since Julio Teheran debuted at the age of 20 years, 100 days on May 7, 2011 and the youngest position player since Wilson Betemit (19 years, 320 days) in 2001.
As a member of the Rome Braves in 2016, Acuña Jr. hit .311 with four home runs and 18 RBI helping Rome win its second South Atlantic League Championship. In 2018 he singled in his debut against Kevin Shackelford for his first career hit, before hitting his first homer the next day off Homer Bailey in his first plate appearance. Acuña Jr., at 20 years, 129 days, became the youngest player to homer for the Braves since Andruw Jones hit a solo shot on August 23, 1997 vs. Cincinnati at age of 20 years, 122 days.
Acuña Jr. hit eight leadoff home runs this season to set the franchise single-season record and pass the previous mark of seven, set by Marquis Grissom in 1996. He also homered in five straight games, August 11-August 14, to tie the franchise modern-era record for most consecutive games with a homer. Prior to Acuña Jr., who hit six total homers during his run, the last Braves player to go deep in five straight was Brian McCann in 2006. Acuña Jr. also became the youngest player in baseball history to homer in even four straight games.
Acuña Jr. also became the youngest player in baseball history to hit a grand slam in a postseason game when he did so in the second inning of Game 3 of the NLDS vs. Los Angeles. Prior to this season, New York's Mickey Mantle was the youngest to hit a grand slam in the playoffs, doing so at the age of 21 in Game 5 of the 1953 World Series against Brooklyn. Acuña Jr.'s slam, which came on a 3-1, second-inning pitch from Walker Buehler, was the seventh in Braves postseason history and the first of Acuña Jr.'s career.
Along with Kimbrel and Furcal, the other five Braves to win the Rookie of the Year award are OF David Justice (1990), 3B Bob Horner (1978), C Earl Williams (1971), OF Sam Jethroe (1950) and SS Alvin Dark (1948).
Debating best Minor League home caps on podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
The Omaha Storm Chasers' 'Take Meow-t' cat night included a Litter Box Sundae
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Boston's Triple-A affiliate throws birthday bash for Roman Anthony
With all the hype that has surrounded Roman Anthony over the past two seasons, it’s easy to forget how young he really is. MLB's No. 1 prospect played 70 games at the highest level of the Minors before he could order a beer. But he can now. Roman Anthony turned
Friendly foes, 2024 first-rounders Moore and Caglianone trade first Triple-A homers
For years, Christian Moore and Jac Caglianone laced up their cleats against one another in the SEC. A rivalry that spanned Florida, Tennessee and other landmarks across the South moved to Salt Lake City this week as the Royals and Angels' top prospects got simultaneous Triple-A promotions. So it was
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition: