The North Port Report: Yeah, Ronald Acuña Jr. Looks Healthy

Here's everything you need to know from Braves Spring Training in North Port, FL from Friday

Welcome to The North Port Report, your nightly notebook from Braves spring training. Each evening, we’ll run through the biggest developments from camp: roster battles, injury updates, standout performances, and the small details that matter more than they seem in February. The games may not count yet, but the information does.

Here’s what stood out today

The Braves absolutely obliterated the Boston Red Sox at home today, thanks to an eleven-run third inning. While the final score doesn’t matter, there are positive signs to take from how they got there.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is legitimately feeling “200% healthy,” if today’s game is any indication. To leadoff the game, he walked and then stole both 2nd and 3rd before being driven in by a Jurickson Profar sacrifice fly. In the 3rd, Ronald singled, advanced to third on a base hit, and then scored on a pop fly that Boston lost track of in shallow left field. He then came up to bat again in the inning, cranking a grand slam after laying off two up-and-in fastballs and the pitcher going back to that well a third time.

But Ronald wasn’t the only player with an exemplary stat line today. Mike Yastrzemski hit two home runs, both solo shots, while Matt Olson hit a massive solo homer of his own. On Yastrzemski, he’s now 6-8 in spring with three home runs, five RBI, and two walks to only one strikeout. More impressively, of his six batted balls, all but one have been at 100 mph or more. He’s ready for Atlanta.

On the pitching side, Chris Sale was followed by several of the team’s high-leverage relievers that we hadn’t yet seen this spring. Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez each got an inning, with Suarez touching 100 on a strikeout of Jarren Duran. Aaron Bummer threw all four pitches for strikes in a clean sixth inning, but is still trying to ramp up his velocity; his fastball averaged 88.3 and maxed out at 90.2. Prospect JR Ritchie got the final two innings for Atlanta, striking out five of the seven batters he faced but also giving up a solo shot, the ninth of the game between the two teams. Working against mostly minor leaguers, Ritchie had eight whiffs on 14 swings and a 48% CSW while touching 96.4. I was impressed with both his curveball’s movement and how he commanded the fastball in the upper third for strikes and whiffs.

(Video of all eight of Ritchie’s whiffs courtesy of Friend of the Newsletter Gaurav Vedak)

Quick Hits

• More credit goes to Michael Harris today. He had an RBI single to end a four-pitch at-bat where he got hosed on a fastball up and in for a called strike, got a second strike on a foul ball, and then laid off at a lefty slider down and away before sending an inside fastball back up the middle. The difference here from last year is it feels like he’s coming to the plate with a plan, versus almost a predetermined decision on when to take. Giant improvement to watch out for as we get deeper into the schedule.

• I’ve been told that Joey Wentz is working on some sort of two-seamer or sinker, which would fill in the left-bottom quadrant of his pitch plot and give him another weapon with drop to partner with his curveball.

• Today is the final game for Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar, and Ozzie Albies before they head to WBC camp for their respective countries. Venezuela (Acuña) will play the Netherlands (Profar, Albies, Chadwick Tromp) to open pool play on March 6th.

Roster Battle Tracker

Stock UP

Antoan Richardson. Atlanta’s new first base coach isn’t battling for a roster spot or anything, but you’re beginning to see some Braves players open it up a bit more on the basepaths. I already mentioned Ronald’s two stolen bases today, but the team also put Jorge Mateo into motion to avoid a double play and ended up getting him to third base on a single. Matt Olson also scored from second base on a base hit to the outfield, coming in just steps behind Jurickson Profar, who was on third at the time. That aggressiveness on the basepaths isn’t something we’ve seen from the Braves in a while, not since the days of Eric Young Sr. and Ron Washington.

Stock DOWN

Hunter Stratton. The optionable righty did nothing to make a case that he should be one of the team’s first bullpen reinforcements called out of Gwinnett, allowing three runs on four hits in his one inning of work to Boston’s backups. Among his issues were a hung slider, crushed for a double, followed by a two-run homer on a middle-middle cutter and another single on another poorly-placed cutter. Just too many pitches in the heart of the plate versus the edges.

Observation of the Day

As much as I want this to be Harris, I’ve already put him in this section this week.

Let’s recognize another newly-found bit of plate discipline. Prospect Alex Lodise got into the game late, subbing in for designated hitter Jurickson Profar. He drew a bases-loaded RBI walk on four pitches, including two inside fastballs that he would have swung on at Florida State. His other appearance was a 102 mh lineout, coming on a sweeper away that he tracked well.

I wrote a few weeks ago about how he needed to get more comfortable with pro pitching and improve his chase rate. He appears to already be making steps in the right direction.

Tomorrow’s watch list

It’s Spencer Strider Start day, as the righty takes the mound in Sarasota against the Baltimore Orioles.