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Superstar Ronald Acuna, Jr. Has 3 Brothers En Route To Majors Too
Half-brothers Ronald Acuna, Jr. of the Atlanta Braves (left) and Luisangel Acuna of the New York ... More Mets (right) meet at Atlanta's Truist Park on September 24, 2024. (Photo by Timothy Healey/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Bad news for pitchers: there may soon be a plethora of Acunas in the major leagues.
Perennial All-Star Ronald Acuna, Jr., at 27, is the oldest of four baseball-playing brothers.
Luisangel Acuna, a 23-year-old infielder, started this season with the New York Mets.
A third brother, Bryan, was born in 2005 and a fourth, Kenny, four years later. Bryan is an infielder in the Minnesota Twins organization while underage Kenny has a verbal agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The bloodlines were already there: patriarch Ronald Acuna, Sr. played minor-league baseball in the New York Mets system.
'I knew how to play baseball,' said Acuna, Sr. in a 2018 interview for La Vida Baseball, "but I never cared about lifting weights. Nor did I have the best attitude on the field.
'Those mistakes cost me my career. Otherwise, I would have made it.'
His eldest son certainly did. The right-fielder and leadoff man for the Atlanta Braves was National League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and unanimous Most Valuable Player in 2023. That was the year he became the only man in baseball history to hit at least 40 home runs (41) and steal at least 70 bases (a club-record 73) in the same season. It was his second 40-homer campaign.
Ronald missed most of last year after tearing his left Achilles while running the bases in Pittsburgh May 26. He missed a year, returning May 23 and picking up where he left off.
Since his return, he has the best batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base mark of any man in the majors.
Ronald Acuna, Jr. celebrates a home run. (Photo by)
Except for his two ACL tears (and subsequent surgeries), Acuna has not encountered the bad luck many players associate with No. 13. In fact, he was the first man invited to this year's All-Star Home Run Derby and is likely to make the National League All-Star team for the fifth time.
The year before he reached Atlanta, his father predicted that Ronald, Jr. would become a big-league star. 'Besides having much more power,' his proud dad said of his eldest offspring, 'he's also much more talented and disciplined than I ever was.'
Luisangel, used as a three-position infielder by the Mets, stole 11 bases in limited action this year before the team decided he'd be best-served playing every day in the minors. He was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse just as the parent club opened a four-game CitiField series against his brother's Braves earlier this week.
'He had a really good April, when he was getting consistent playing time,' said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza of the rookie infielder. 'He helped us win a lot of baseball games but then it was a combination of some other guys producing. He became a role guy.'
The demotion of his brother did not surprise Ronald. 'It's a business,' he said Tuesday night through Braves interpreter Franco Garcia. ''I'm not going to lie. I would love to see my brother here and be up with the team. But the most important thing for me personally was that we won tonight's game."
A surplus of young, talented, but untested infielders made Mendoza juggle. Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and Brett Baty all vied with Acuna for playing time.
'When you play good and you play good every day, they need to find a spot in the lineup for you,' said his wise older brother, who landed his job when veteran Nick Markakis retired.
The brothers did not play in the same game last year because Ronald was recuperating from his second torn ACL. But Luisangel did start two games at shortstop when the Mets came to Truist Park in September.
Speed and versatility are the calling cards of Mets infielder Luisangel Acuna, the second member of ... More the clan to reach the majors. (Photo by)
Ronald thinks Luisangel will be a star. 'I've always said he's a better player than I am,' said Ronald. 'He's a tremendous talent. But he doesn't need to be like me at all.'
In 2023, Ronald said his brother is more advanced and better than he was at the same age.
Ronald and Luisangel bear a facial resemblance and have familiar swings. 'There are so many parts of our game that are similar,' Ronald said. 'Watching him play feels like watching myself play. The main difference is he's in the infield.'
That could change, as the Mets have mused about moving Luisangel to center field, a spot that would maximize his speed and fill a season-long void.
Luisangel may never replicate the robust power of his oldest sibling. In his season debut, Ronald became the first player in history to hit a leadoff homer in his first at-bat after missing at least 150 games. He also flashed his rifle arm, nailing a runner trying to turn a single into an extra-base hit.
Ronald worked overtime at Atlanta's Florida training complex to get himself into playing shape. He's even starting to steal bases again.
'With all the hard work and preparation he's put in, he deserves all of it,' Luisangel said.
Ronald has even been flirting with a .400 batting average since returning to the top of the Atlanta lineup last month.
The two brothers appeared in the same boxscore for the first time after Luisangel entered a Truist Park game as a ninth-inning defensive replacement at second base. But Ronald made the play of the game, robbing Pete Alonso of an extra-base hit and doubling Juan Soto off first.
The Acunas have played together before – on the basketball court. The Venezuelan youngsters grew up in a small town 65 miles east of Caracas.
Those pick-up games now seem light-years ago – long before Ronald signed an eight-year, $100 million contract that contains club options for 2027 and 2028.
None of the other Acunas may ever reach that level of salary but there's always hope.
'I look up to my brother,' said Luisangel, who had a contract for $766,000 during his brief stint with the Mets. 'I've learned a lot from him being a superstar in the game. He's a part of my career because he's always been there for me.'
