Ronald Acuña Jr. reveals troubling feelings behind fights

Ronald Acuña Jr.’s well-documented struggles on offense have Atlanta Braves fans worried.

Though Ronald Acuña Jr. may be an all-star, things haven’t exactly gone smoothly for him Atlanta Braves‘ the most talented player since returning from a cruciate ligament rupture.

Acuña may have been floored in Atlanta’s recent loss to archrivals the New York Mets, but his power slugger was largely absent from Atlanta’s lineup. Over the year, Acuna is posting .256/.354/.396 with nine runs home and 26 runs batted over the course of 70 games. While he’s not afraid to run on the basic paths or make a play to the right, this comment is a little concerning.

“It’s all part of the process and I’m hoping for better days,” Acuña told The Athletic’s David O’Brien. “But I have to say, for example, that the knee doesn’t always feel the same when I swing. Some days I trust it, some days I don’t feel like I trust it, and it’s not the same.”

How should Braves Country feel about Acuña’s comments about his knee at this point in the year?

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. reveals why he struggles on the plate

While there may be factions of Braves Country who go crazy for his high standards over Acuña’s poor season, those things take time. When a player of his caliber loses the ability to walk and has to relearn how to walk, it’s a mental as well as a physical process. Gradually he will regain that confidence in all facets of his game when it comes to his tight knee.

The good news for him and the Braves is that Atlanta should be a playoff team this year. Even if they don’t catch those hated Mets in the NL East standings, Atlanta has too talented and experienced a roster not to be among the top six teams in the senior circuit. Again, repeating is so damn hard, but Atlanta has the luxury of winning it all just a year ago. It’s about getting into the postseason…

From there anything can happen. The Braves shouldn’t be favored for the World Series, but the same logic can be applied to last year’s championship roster. When Acuña touched home plate Thursday night, you could see that all of his teammates were so incredibly happy for him. They know the struggles he’s been through and they know he put in all the work.

There will be a moment in October when Acuña will forget all these fights.