KANSAS CITY — Aaron Judge is justifiably lauded for his incredible power, and Shohei Ohtani has made plenty of noise with his bat. But even though a pair of major knee surgeries has cost him nearly two full seasons, Ronald Acuña Jr. has clearly become baseball’s king of the monstrous home run.
Acuña’s latest jaw-dropping shot traveled a Statcast-projected 468 feet and helped the Braves claim a 10-7 win over the Royals on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium. Atlanta’s right fielder leads MLB with the 26 homers of 450-plus feet since the start of his 2018 rookie season.
“There’s not much more you can say at this point,” said Spencer Strider, who tossed five innings of two-run ball to earn the victory. “He’s one of the most talented guys I’ve ever seen. Five-tool player. It’s just so easy the way he plays the game. The swing is just unbelievable with the bat speed and the power. It’s an impressive athlete all around.”
Acuña’s latest majestic home run came after he connected with Rich Hill’s 88.6 mph fastball, sending it to the top of the fountains beyond the left-center-field wall in the second inning. Acuña missed most of the season’s first two months recovering from knee surgery, but despite making his season debut on May 23, he has already hit three homers 450 feet or longer — matching the D-backs’ Eugenio Suárez for the most in the Major Leagues.
“It’s good to hit homers, and it’s good to hit those long-distance homers,” Acuña said through an interpreter. “The truth is, I’m not sure how I do it.”
Though the Braves are 15 games below .500 (45-60), there are plenty of areas of interest surrounding the team. An immediate focus is the trade market for Marcell Ozuna, whose two-run homer in Monday’s fourth inning might have been one of his last highlights in an Atlanta uniform. He’ll likely be traded by Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.
There’s also reason for the baseball world to keep an eye on Acuña whenever he is on the field. He wowed with his arm during a July 18 game against the Yankees and showed off his speed when he scored from first on a single on July 21. But his incredible power seems to be the greatest of his five tools.
“He’s amazing, nobody can beat him,” Ozuna said.
Acuña debuted a few weeks into the 2018 season and missed another month that year with a knee sprain. His 2021 season ended when he tore his right anterior cruciate ligament two days before the All-Star break. His decision to return a month into 2022 led to lingering discomfort that year. So, after he missed the final four months of 2024 with a torn left ACL, the 2023 National League MVP missed most of this season’s first two months.
Still, despite all of this missed time, he has hit four more 450-foot plus homers than any other MLB player since his debut season (including the postseason).
450 foot homers since 2018
• Acuña — 26
• Ohtani — 22
• Judge — 22
• C.J. Cron — 19
• Ryan McMahon — 16
• Pete Alonso — 16
Home runs since 2018
1. Judge — 296 (3,215 at-bats)
2. Kyle Schwarber — 274 (3,672 ABs)
3. Ohtani — 263 (3,526 ABs)
T23. Acuña — 179 (3.012 ABs)
Percent of home runs that have gone 450 feet or longer vs. Judge, Ohtani
• Acuña — 14.5 percent
• Ohtani — 8.3 percent
• Judge — 7.4 percent
“It’s crazy the way the ball comes off his bat,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I’ve watched him hit balls during batting practice to right field like he’s a left-handed pull hitter. It’s something special. That’s just a God given thing that not many of us have.”
