We sat in the 200 section over the Braves' dugout, getting to Durham Bulls Athletic Park soon after gates opened at 6:05, having arrived downtown a bit early and imbibed Aviator tripels (Holly Springs's finest) and pretzel bites at the Mellow Mushroom across the street to pass the time. The DBAP ushers informed us on the best ways to get pre-game visitor autographs (bullpen-side of dugout, ~30 min before first pitch, or if missing that opportunity, wait on the team bus after the game). We staked out our boy Ronald Acun~a with another Braves NC family up from Wilmington, dreaming about 2019 up-the-middle D and rotations. The first to cross our path was Afternoon-announced starting pitcher Max Fried, fresh off his first MLB cup of coffee, followed by gametime-announced starting catcher K Scivicque. Fried was a nice enough kid; he wasn't about to sign autographs before his start, but acknowledged his fans. Nobody knew who Scivicque was and he seemed fine with that fact.
Acuna came out with his bat (note there are no cages set up for batting practice) for, believe it or not, a photoshoot. He bigtimed us a bit when we called him over (Re NALD, like the Spanish pronunciation), but not rudely. As he warmed up with starting RF Xavier Avery, I was sure he'd come back for a few signatures. He and Avery rocked out to an intercom jam while warming up, and Acuna, as expected, waltzed over to say hello and sign a few items [see end of article for details on the paraphernalia].
The baseball part of this story isn't so much a recap of the game, but more my scouting reports on Braves AAA top prospects. Remember we're sitting behind the 3B coach, low 2nd section, and I'm not a scout. But I did succeed in getting my wife [who didn't know what a baseball was in 2010 when we met) to understand and communicate the 20-80 scale, so there's that.
Fried was dominant. He works quickly from a windup that looks like a stretch, but he takes his rock-back step from the side and makes a repeatable, quick delivery that I would imagine would look pretty intimidating from the batter's box. He is a lanky dude, not Chris Sale or Bumgarner limbs, maybe more like a taller Tim Lincecum. His fastball sat 91-94, touching 96 when he wanted to; two of his 6 strikeouts were 96, and everything was swing-and-miss (very few called strikes). His curveball clocked 71 and was filthy. Among the best were a first-pitch gotcha on a middle order bat and a put-away of our old friend Mallex Smith. The slider wasn't really there tonight, Fried didn't have very good command of it and the Bulls were laying off. However, Most of the night, the Bulls looked overmatched. Keep in mind, Durham probably has 3+ future/recent major league hitters and Gwinnett has...3 also?
It took Fried 15 pitches to get through the first two batters, with Fried taking the toss from 1B to get Mallex on a nice play and issuing a close walk to future MLB SS Willy Adames, who was subsequently dispatched on a deceptive and seemingly well-practiced pick-off move. Fried didn't appear to break a sweat until the 4th. Fried's nemesis Adames reached on a chopper that an MLB SS makes, and then proceeded to take 2nd and 3rd on Scivique passed balls. Fried looked really shaken up. From where I was sitting, Early on it had looked like he may have gotten squeezed on some close pitches, but here missed badly, walking probable future platoon 1B Jake Bauers to put runners on the corners with one out. Then, Fried bared down and got a huge strikeout, and then calmly got the fifth batter to pop up to Acuna in CF. Overall, Fried easily turned over a AAA lineup (the major league caliber hitters twice) but took 68 pitches to do so. Looking ahead from what I saw, if he could just command the mixed fastball velocity along with that curve he could get most hitters out. But, he could really use some more seasoning in the minors, would love to see him start the year in Gwinnett and earn himself a spot in the ATL rotation. While I understand the innings limit, it would have been nice to see Fried go another inning, if only because Thursday night crowds at Durham aren't really settled in until the 4th ($1 hot dog night) so he faced minimum stadium pressure. Line: 4 IP, 1H, 2BB, 6K, 0R, 36/68 strikes/pitches.
Acuna looks the part of a superstar. He's got the cool hair, he carries himself well, he's hanging on the dugout fence when his team is at bat, and he's goofing around with his teammates, the center of attention. He's also 19 years old and hasn't been playing baseball in the US for all that long. At the plate, he has a great batter's eye. Former Braves catcher-turned AAA manager Damon Barryhill had Acuna batting leadoff, which seems like a weird place for him, especially after his first at-bat, when he scooted a borderline strike over to 1B for a one-pitch-one-out introduction. But as the game went on, he became more patient and selective. He singled to 2B his second at-bat, barely getting the ball through the shift, which seemed strange to me because I thought he had power and hit tool to all fields. It's a clean single in a straight-away infield. Then...he got picked off 1B, not really on a great move but at least by a lefty. Seemed to me they had him stealing and he didn't pick up the move at all, darting for 2B while the pitcher still had the ball.
Acuna was given two huge opportunities in his last two at-bats to turn the game. With the bases loaded with 2 outs and up 1-0 in the 8th, Acuna struck out looking on a borderline pitch. From my seat, it looked high and away, the umpire took an extra moment to make the call, and Acuna definitely looked surprised at the result. He didn't argue or get upset, just paused a moment and walked back into the dugout. With 2 outs in the 9th, Scivique had a great at-bat with runners in scoring position, driving a line-drive single (his 2nd of the night) into CF to make it 3-2 (the G-Braves bullpen walked 3 in with the bases loaded in the 8th). Acuna was then up as the last hope and representing the go-ahead run. He had a great at-bat, working the count to 3-2 on some good pitching from the Bulls closer. He made a baller move, removing his shin guard that he adjusted after every pitch and tossing it towards the dugout after strike 2. Alas, he swung over ball 4 low and away, sending the Bulls in pandemonium, they having wrapped up the IL Southern Division crown with the win. Overall, I think Acuna has the tools and the makeup to be what we all hope and think he'll one day become, but the key word there is one day (soon). While he seems to have a great batter's eye, not really swinging at pitches he doesn't think he can hit well, he still looks a little jumpy. The Bulls thew out some decent pitchers tonight, guys who could effectively mix velocities. Acuna didn't look overmatched, he just seemed like he was swinging out of his feet a little too often. Didn't get to see him make anything but can-o-corns in CF, but watching him run routes and warm up definitely gives the impression of a guy who will be an asset out there. Overall, I'm really excited about Acuna's future, but in my view he needs more reps in AAA before he's ready for the Show. I would like to see him be used more like the role he'll hopefully have in ATL early next year in Gwinnett: an OF corner and batting 2nd instead of leadoff. I think he could play CF and bat leadoff in ATL, but we all know that's not how he'll be used initially.
Fun night! Would have been better if Acuna clubbed a go-ahead homer into the Bull sign for a steak at the Angus Barn, but maybe in early 2018!
[Acuna signed a Jackie Robinson 50th anniversary ball, which was the 1997 season, the same year Acuna was born, and we share the birthday! Granted I was 14, but c'mon look what..I was doing..at 19...:(]
