ADP and the Accruement of Acuna

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DOUGHBOYS
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ADP and the Accruement of Acuna

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Wed Dec 13, 2017 9:43 am

I have three or four NFBC friends disagreeing on the worth of Ronald Acuna.
Rookies are a tough nut. Especially this time of year.
How much playing time does Acuna receive?
Will Atlanta make him stay at AAA for two months, no matter how good he looks, to gain another year of control?
When he arrives, will he burst on the scene?
Or will he struggle?

The fact is, we don't know the answer to any of these questions.
All we have is what everybody has, an opinion.
Acuna is 20 and flew through Atlanta's minor league system last year.
Then, he killed it at the Arizona Fall League.
His backers will say that each time Acuna moved up to a higher league, he performed even better last year.
Here are his 2017 numbers...32/88/21/82/44
With numbers like that, it's no wonder some are salivating.
His detractors will say that he turns 20 years old next week.
There will be no reason for the Braves to hurry him through to the Major Leagues.
That April and May are off the table as far as the Big Club and if he struggles or gets hurt during that time, he may not see the Majors at all.

Acuna's adp is 162. 11th round.
I've seen him go in the sixth and seventh rounds in a few drafts already.
For me, I cannot draft him that high.
All the questions in the first paragraph won't let me draft him that high.
I can't even draft him at his 162 adp right now.
He is one of those kids that will have to shine in Spring Training. leaving his club no choice but to roster him for the beginning of the season. If that happens, then everybody who had faith in Acuna will win that portion of the battle.
I have many doubts about that happening.
On top of those things, the Braves outfield is full as of now.
They are paying Matt Kemp too much (21 million) to play left.
Nick Markakis has one year at too much (10.5 million) money to play right.
And they have a producer in Ender Inciarte playing center field.

I love Acuna's talent. Love it.
But during the Draft Championships season, I'll let those that have more faith in his playing time take him in drafts.
I could be wrong. It happens every day.
But for me, I'll think of him as somebody to watch in 2018 and somebody to draft in 2019.
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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Edwards Kings
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Re: ADP and the Accruement of Acuna

Post by Edwards Kings » Wed Dec 13, 2017 11:25 am

Playing time is easy, especially before June. If Markakis (more likely) or Kemp (less likely) are moved before the season begins, then Acuna opens in the Bigs.

I hope he is left in AAA. One, it is easier for me to see him at Gwinnett (now known as the "Stripers" in honor of a type of game fish...bass...favorite at Lake Lanier...the name only sucks slightly but is much better than the six "finalist" names we were previously given). Two, he really hasn't seen that many at-bats in the high minors. Some are drawing comparisons to Andruw Jones and that is probably pretty accurate...down to striking out in 20% of his plate attempts (albeit with less power).

The Braves have been pretty quiet...few rumors out of Orlando...and with the loss of the foreign draftee's the Braves have less in the minors to use as trade bait, but if the Braves go for a big starter (i.e. not Bartolo Colon) and/or real third basemen (i.e. not Chase Headly), well that may indicate that they may be in a win-now mode. My guess is the Braves are watching what the Nats do.

In short (too late), I think as things stand right now, Acuna gets at least a third of a season in Gwinnett.

But what do I know....
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

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Edwards Kings
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Re: ADP and the Accruement of Acuna

Post by Edwards Kings » Wed Dec 13, 2017 11:38 am

Oh...and the Braves are only paying Kemp $19M (still too much). Some Left-Coast teams are paying $2.75m...still!
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

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