NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Now that Ronald Acuña Jr. is back in camp and completing normal baseball activities, there’s reason to wonder if last week’s right knee soreness should lead the reigning National League MVP to be a little less aggressive with his stolen-base attempts this year. 

“No,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s still young and he’s still at an age where he can still [steal a lot of bases].  He’s going to reach a time where he’s going to slow down on his own. For now, you've just got to let a kid like that loose and let him play his game.”

That’s certainly good news for all the baseball fans looking forward to watching Acuña establish himself as one of the greatest power-speed talents the game has seen. We may never see another player join the 40-70 club that he established when he hit 41 homers and stole 73 bases last year.

Before Acuña, no player had tallied more than 46 stolen bases during a 40-homer season. And no other player had hit more than 28 homers during a 70-steal season.

There are some of you reading this and thinking, "I wouldn’t mind seeing Acuña be less aggressive on the bases to lessen some wear and tear." There’s nothing wrong with that thinking. But at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with the outfielder taking advantage of the youthful energy he still has at 26 years old.

There will come a day when Acuña isn’t looking to steal 40-plus bases and there will come a day when stolen bases aren’t a part of his MVP resume. But that day has not yet arrived.

Acuña certainly doesn’t think last week’s issue should create concern. His right knee was sore after he had some fun while extending a rundown in a game against the Twins. An MRI exam showed irritation around the meniscus. This led the Braves to send him to California to be evaluated by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who had surgically repaired this same knee after an ACL tear in 2021.

Why take this much precaution? With Opening Day still three weeks away, it made sense to erase any concerns about this being a lingering issue throughout the remainder of this year and beyond. 

When Acuña returned to Braves camp early on Tuesday morning, he said he was ready to immediately resume playing in games. He took batting practice and completed other normal baseball activities with his teammates on Thursday, but Snitker wasn’t sure exactly when his superstar would be back at the top of the lineup, and there isn't any reason to rush.

What should be expected from Acuña this year?

Thoughts of another 70-steal season seem unrealistic. If you didn’t see it in my previous newsletter, just 13 players have tallied 70-plus stolen bases multiple times since 2000. The two most recent were Marquis Grissom (1990-91) and Kenny Lofton (1993-96).

There have been just five 40-40 seasons, and the only near repeat occurred in 1997, when Barry Bonds hit 40 homers and tallied 37 steals. No other player tallied more than 21 stolen bases the year after going 40-40.

Acuña’s stolen-base total might decrease this year, but I’m predicting that he will become the first player to record consecutive 40-40 seasons.

It was cool to hear Charlie Morton talk about how fortunate he has been to pitch in an era during which it became accepted for pitchers to use their curveball as their primary weapon. Instead of sticking with the age-old practice of primarily using the fastball when behind in the count, teams began recognizing the value of having pitchers lean on their top pitch.

Morton arguably has the game’s best curveball. The pitch had a run value of +25 last year, per Baseball Savant. The only pitches with a higher run value were Gerrit Cole’s four-seam fastball, Logan Webb’s changeup, Zac Gallen’s four-seam fastball and Chris Bassitt’s sinker.

Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell had the second-most effective breaking ball. His curveball had a +22 run value.

Morton’s curveball is certainly the reason he is pitching into his 40s and enjoying big league camp 16 years after he experienced his first with the likes of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Tim Hudson and Mike Hampton, who were all with the Braves in 2008.

A team of Braves prospects will travel to Fort Myers to play the Red Sox in a Spring Breakout game on March 16. Right-handed pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach (No. 3) and Owen Murphy (No. 5) are the highest-ranked Braves prospects slated to participate.

Nacho Alvarez Jr (No. 6) and Drake Baldwin (No. 11) have impressed in big league camp this year. They will be among the other Braves playing in this event that is aimed toward promoting baseball’s future stars. Click here to find the Braves' roster and broadcast info.

Spencer Strider’s first two Grapefruit League starts were impressive and Chris Sale turned heads both times he pitched. But in terms of the best starts I’ve seen thus far, I’d put AJ Smith-Shawver's most recent one near the top. The Braves' No. 1 prospect showed an electric fastball and really dazzled with the changeup, his fourth-most utilized pitch last year. This may be the year Smith-Shawver entrenches himself within Atlanta’s rotation.

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