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Ronald Acuña Starting All-Star Game Takes Him One Step Closer to Being the Face of the MLB

By Scott Rogust

Atlanta Braves v San Francisco Giants
Atlanta Braves v San Francisco Giants / Daniel Shirey/Getty Images

In a seriously short amount of time, Ronald Acuña Jr. has made a strong impression in Major League Baseball. After being called up by the Atlanta Braves last season, Acuña proved to be the future of the franchise, becoming the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year. Not only did he earn the love of Braves fans through his particular energy, but baseball enthusiasts around the world.

The "Pheñom" has seen his resume continue to grow, and he has now been named a starter for this year's MLB All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio. And with this latest achievement, he's taken one step closer to being the face of Major League Baseball.

Acuña earned the final starting outfield spot for the National League by earning more votes than Charlie Blackmon, Nick Markakis, Jason Heyward, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora, and Joc Pederson, all well-established names on contending teams. More importantly, the only two guys he finished behind are the two best players in baseball this season, Cody Bellinger and Christian Yeluch.

If you want some further proof just how big a deal this is, Acuña is the first player to start the All-Star Game at 21 years of age since Mike Trout and Bryce Harper both did so in 2013.

Through 111 games in his first season, Acuña hit 26 home runs and 64 RBI on a .293 batting average. Acuña is already on pace to shatter those numbers in his sophomore campaign, as he already has 19 homers and 51 runs batted in through 80 games.

It's rare that even a consensus top MLB prospect makes such an immediate impact on his team. Not only has Acuña accomplished that, but he's become a celebrated figure across the league who plays the game with a rare kind of joy that's contagious to watch.

We're not even two years into Ronald Acuña Jr.'s professional career, and he's on pace to become one of the biggest names in the game. That's no small accomplishment. It only makes sense that he'll be taking the field with the NL's greatest players at the Midsummer Classic.