Ronald Acuna is still likely to open the season in Gwinnett, but credit him for making the decision as difficult as possible. Acuna hasn’t just met expectations but is exceeding them and showing what all of the hype was about with a torrid spring. Once his service time requirement is met, it looks he will join the Braves and become a fixture in the team’s outfield for many seasons to come. However, who will open the season in left field is still unclear.
Hitter Locks: Tyler Flowers, Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis, Johan Camargo
This group is essentially unchanged with the only opening in left field. It is worth mentioning that Johan Camargo left a game this week due to back tightness. The injury isn’t thought to be serious but the Braves are playing it safe and he likely won’t return to action until Wednesday at the earliest. He still appears to be ticketed to be the third baseman on Opening Day.
Bench Locks: Kurt Suzuki, Charlie Culberson
Suzuki and Culberson have been locks since the beginning of camp. Suzuki has 10 hits in 21 at bats including three doubles.
Competition: Preston Tucker, Lane Adams, Ezequiel Carrera, Rio Ruiz, Chris Stewart, Danny Santana, Dustin Peterson, Christian Colon
If the Braves go with a 12-man pitching staff to start, that leaves three bench spots open in addition to the starting left fielder.
Preston Tucker has done everything he can to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster, going 14-for-37 at the plate with five doubles and a home run. Lane Adams got off to a terribly slow start, but has come around lately with five hits in his last 11 at bats. He does lead the team with 18 strikeouts.
The Braves added another name to the competition this week with the addition of Ezequiel Carrera who signed a minor league deal. Carrera hit .282/.356/.408 with eight home runs in 131 games with the Blue Jays last season. He will likely see plenty of opportunities over the final days of spring training.
Danny Santana is another player who has turned heads with a good spring. He brings speed and some defensive versatility and is a switch hitter.
Dustin Peterson has had a nice spring in limited opportunities but it just seems like it would make more sense to have him begin the season at Triple-A where he could receive regular at bats with the possibility of a call up at some point this season.
Rio Ruiz and Christian Colon seem to be vying for one of the final bench spots. Ruiz has seen plenty of opportunities and has three doubles and two homers but is 12-for-52 with 17 strikeouts. Colon has surprised at the plate this spring and brings some defensive versatility. He however is not on the 40-man roster and would necessitate a roster move if the Braves were to keep him.
There are still a lot of moving parts here so nothing is set. If I had to guess right now I would stick with a prediction of a platoon situation in left consisting of Tucker and Adams but would not be surprised if Carrera works his way into the discussion.
Acuna Tier: Ronald Acuna
Acuna had three more hits on Sunday and is now 19-for-44 with a double and four home runs. Since beginning the spring 0-for-7, he is 19-for-37. He has certainly shown that he is ready and his spring serves as a reminder that MLB’s service time rules need to be changed.
Others: Sean Kazmar, Rob Brantley
Sean Kazmar and Rob Brantley are still around for depth purposes but will be heading to minor league camp at some point.
Dropped from consideration: Cristian Pache, Ray Patrick-Didder, Kade Scivicque, Tyler Marlette, Austin Riley, Alex Jackson, William Contreras, Ryan Shimpf, Jaff Decker
The Braves reassigned Austin Riley and Alex Jackson earlier this week. The team also optioned Ryan Schimpf to Triple-A on Sunday. Schimpf is still hitless this spring and is 0-for-16 with 11 strikeouts since coming over from Tampa Bay.