Is there anything Ronnie can’t do?
The Braves have a solid core, and it’s being noticed by Fangraphs. Ronald Acuña reclaimed the top spot in the Fangraphs Trade Value Series from Wander Franco. Franco was the first, maybe only, prospect that I saw them hang a Future Value of 80, plays a prime position at shortstop, and is locked up through 2033. Though about Ronnie they write:
The tools? They’re ludicrous. His power is at the top of the scale, excluding various demigods with Judgian dimensions. He has a tremendous feel for the strike zone, rarely chasing balls but frequently punishing pitches he can drive. He might steal 80 bases. He might hit 50 homers. He has the best outfield arm in the game. This year, he stopped striking out, thanks to the strategy of making a lot more contact without sacrificing quality at all. He’s like a video game character with every slider maxed out.
This pretty much says it all. He’s a five-tool player in his prime. He does everything but pitch, and probably could with 95 MPH or so throws from the outfield.
The other Braves are ranked here:
10) Spencer Strider
12) Sean Murphy
13) Austin Riley
15) Michael Harris II
31) Ozzie Albies
HM) Matt Olson
The rankings here are odd to me. It’s like, “hey the Braves have the most complete set of position players by a lot, plus Marcell Ozuna and Eddie Rosario, so let’s throw a bunch in the 10 to 15 range.” I know the math is very sound there and Szymborski does a great job. But IDK about how it’s assembled. I don’t know about the valuation on Austin Riley. It’s not that he isn’t valuable, but I feel he is getting pretty close to fair value on his contract. The contract value really drives trade valuations. Placing Olson at an honorable mention and Riley at #13 must be saying that first basemen have no souls, regardless of the contract. And having Will Smith at #21 that close to Sean Murphy while looking at their contracts seems absurd.
Shohei Ohtani at #25 I guess makes sense to me? Yes, it’s two months on his contract, but it’s two positions filled for the most important two months of the year plus the playoffs. I love Michael Harris, but Money Mike ain’t moving the needle as much as Ohtani in the World Series. It takes Harris three years or so to reclaim that value. I guess these rankings make sense, but probably make sense for the offseason when longer-term players might be moved outside of a collapse and fire sale (cough cough Mets?). We maybe could use a Deadline Trade Value List right now.