CLEVELAND – At this point, Ronald Acuña Jr. looks like the frontrunner for National League MVP.
On Monday, he earned two more honors: NL Player of the Month for June, and NL Player of the Week.
This is Acuña’s third career NL Player of the Month honor. He also won for April of this season, and for April 2021. He’s the second player in Braves history to win three such awards, joining Dale Murphy, who earned six.
Acuña is also the second Brave to win two monthly awards in the same year. Andruw Jones did it in 2005.
In June, Acuña, now a four-time All-Star, hit .356 with nine home runs, 22 RBIs, seven doubles, 14 stolen bases and 26 runs scored. He posted a 1.112 OPS in the month.
In June, Acuña hit safely in 23 games, scored a run in 18 and drove in a run in 13 games. The Braves, who won 21 games in June, took 14 of their last 15 to end the month. They lost only four times in June.
In six games during the span that decided this award, Acuña went 9-for-19 with five home runs, seven RBIs, one double, four stolen bases and nine runs scored. He posted a 1.916 OPS. The Braves won all six games.
Acuña drove in at least one run in four of those six games. He scored in all six.
Acuña capped the week by extending his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games.
He entered Monday’s series opener in Cleveland with 21 home runs and 39 stolen bases. He’s on pace to become the first player in MLB history with at least 30 homers and 60 stolen bases in a single season.
Heading into the Cleveland series, Acuña led all NL players with a 1.019 OPS this season. His .336 batting average ranked second. His 21 homers were sixth, his 54 RBIs tied for seventh.
If he keeps this up, he’ll likely win NL MVP in a landslide.
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