Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is simply unstoppable. On Sunday, the rookie outfielder tied a club record with his seventh leadoff home run of the season..
On a 1-0 pitch in the bottom of the first inning, Acuña Jr. drilled a fastball to the second deck in left field for his 23rd home run of the season.
.@ronaldacunajr24 is doing the leadoff homer thing again. pic.twitter.com/vwZeTi2XcP
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2018
It’s an incredible achievement on its own, but even more remarkable given the limited ABs. The 20-year-old matched Marquise Grissom’s franchise record with seven leadoff home runs in a season, but Acuña Jr. did it in a far shorter time.
According to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, Acuña Jr. has hit leadoff in 41 games versus Marquise Grissom’s 157 games in 1996.
While Acuña Jr. will likely fall short of Alfonso Soriano’s MLB record with 13 leadoff home runs in a season, the rookie is on his way to setting a franchise record.
The star outfielder has simply been on fire in the second half of the season with 16 home runs since the All-Star Break.