With Acuna Jr. out for the year, the Braves chances to win the World Series are really slim
By: Steve Risser
On Saturday, the Braves lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season with a torn ACL. He got hurt by trying to make a leaping catch in the Braves 5–4 win over the Marlins. There are 2 reasons why the Braves are in big trouble. The first is that he’s clearly the best hitter in their lineup. He leads the team in Home Runs with 24 and the only reason he doesn’t lead the team in RBI’s is because he’s a leadoff hitter and has to hit behind the 8 and 9 hitters in the lineup. The 2nd reason is the starting pitching and bullpen are not good enough. Max Fried has had a down year and Mike Soroka is out for the year. In the bullpen, Will Smith has had a good year as the closer but the rest of the bullpen has struggled behind him. The team’s bullpen ERA is 4.58, which is 21st in all of baseball. In baseball, losing a great player is not as bad as losing a QB in football or losing a superstar in basketball, but seeing how much Acuna means to the Braves, it’s hard to see them being world series contenders without him.
