Marlins division rivals suffer a catastrophic blow to their season

This weekend saw some really shocking news. The Miami Marlins can expect some division rivals to get worse, and looking at their farm systems is useful. The bigger story however is Atlanta Braves RF Ronald Acuna Jr. being now out for the season. I'm never happy to see a player get injured, and this is tragic news for both the Braves and MLB in general. What happens now?

Atlanta Braves RF Ronald Acuna Jr. is now out for the season.

Let me start off by saying that I'm certainly not happy about this. Regardless of who he plays for, Ronald Acuna Jr. is one of the best players in the game, and it's a massive blow not to be able to see him again this season. It's also very concerning that it's not his first leg injury either. He previously tore his right ACL in 2021, and now he tore his left.

Will Acuna be able to run the way he used to when he's back? He stole an amazing 73 bases last season, but two ACL tears take their toll. He will likely need the 2025 season to adjust, and who knows how his 2026 season will go. Once again I'd like to stress that I'm not enjoying this situation and not rooting for him to struggle. I'm just pointing out that he might not be the same after.

A strong argument can be made that he already peaked last season. His Exit Velocity dropped from 94.7 last season to 92.2 this season. He's been hitting more ground balls and less line drives... he seemed to at the very least to not be as good as he was last season. It's definitely a major question mark as to what version of Acuna will show up in the next few years.

As far as Atlanta goes, I don't see how their streak of division titles can possibly continue at this point. With Ronald Acuna Jr. and SP Spencer Strider injured for the season, it seems that their best hope is the Wild Card and I don't see them going on a deep playoff run. They won the World Series without Acuna in 2021, but he wasn't as important for them as he is now.