Ronald Acuna made his long-awaited return to the Braves lineup Friday.
Acuna manned left field and was slated sixth in the lineup in the series opener at St. Louis. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
The 20-year-old missed 28 games because of a left-knee ACL sprain and left-knee and lower-back contusions.
“I’m beyond excited,” Acuna said through an interpreter. “I say the emotions are comparable to my call-up. That’s how excited I feel.”
Manager Brian Snitker liked what he saw from Acuna despite the lackluster results, both at the plate and running to first.
“He was right on some pitches,” Snitker said. “Just missed some pitches. He swung the bat well. The results weren’t great, but one of those first 100 (mph), 101 pitches he got off (Jordan) Hicks, he was all over it. So that’s a good sign too.”
Acuna took a nasty tumbled May 27 in Boston, leading many to initially believe his season was over. The diagnosis was about the best news for which the Braves could’ve asked.
He’s maintained in recent weeks that he was ready to play, but the team wasn’t taking any chances. They’ve played it slowly with their No. 1 prospect, especially given his natural tendency to push himself every play.
Acuna spent a week in Florida doing agility testing and drills under team therapists and instructors’ supervision. He was sent on a rehab assignment June 22.
“I was honest when I said I felt ready,” he said. “I told them, and they were just trying to be cautious with me and take me down to Florida to make sure I went through the right steps. I felt ready.”
While with Triple-A Gwinnett, Acuna went 3-for-21 (.143), but the team was more concerned with his process than the results.
Snitker watched Acuna single and steal a base on his iPad earlier in the week. He, and obviously the medical staff, was satisfied with how Acuna performed in the brief rehab stint.
“I know he’s excited and we’re excited about having him back,” Snitker said. “You get a guy with that skill level, what he did for our team when he came, it was a long month. So he’s feeling good and we’re excited about having him back out there.”
Ender Inciarte and Ozzie Albies have been formidable atop the lineup in the last week. While Acuna hit second in 25 of his 29 big-league games, don’t expect to see him back in that spot soon.
Instead, Acuna will likely remain at or around the 6-hole he was pegged for Friday night.
“He hadn’t hit in a month, so that’s a good spot for him,” Snitker said. “If he gets hot, he can produce some runs. Without getting him up there and letting a lot of at-bats pile up, that’ll be a good spot to put him starting off.”
Acuna debuted in another National League Central city, Cincinnati, on April 25. It was the most anticipated Braves debut in at least a half-decade, with Acuna coming off a meteoric rise last season that earned him Baseball America’s minor league player of the year award, alongside numerous other honors.
The prized rookie hit .265 with 12 extra-base hits and 13 RBIs in his first 29 games. The Braves were 18-11 in that span.
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