Miami Marlins rival superstar is facing a career defining year

This has been a lost season for the Miami Marlins. We're left analyzing the recent MLB Draft and hoping for the best in the future. This also means hoping that rival division teams aren't too lucky going forward. It just so happens that one key rival team is going through massive issues. One of those issues has been them losing their superstar RF Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season.

Marlins division rivals lost their star player and he might not be the same.

This is a bit of a tough situation. I want the Miami Marlins to succeed, but at the same time I don't wish injury on any player. I don't want Ronald Acuna Jr.'s career to end or fall apart, I do however wonder what will happen to one of the most exciting players in the game.

Ronald Acuna Jr. had an incredible 2023 season, as he batted .337/.416/.596, with 41 home runs and 106 RBI in 159 games and 643 AB. He also led the Majors with 73 stolen bases. I'm not sure he could've been much better than this phenomenal year. He was worth an amazing 8.2 WAR for that performance and won the NL MVP award.

This season hasn't been going according to plan for Acuna. Even prior to tearing his ACL, he was clearly not going to match last season's performance. He batted a disappointing .250/.351/.365, with 4 home runs and 15 RBI in 49 games and 222 AB. It's important to point out that his BABIP wasn't too low. It was .326, compared to .338 last season and .334 for his career.

Acuna's Exit Velocity did go down from 94.7 last season, to 92.2 this season. It was still around his career 92.5 mark however. It's important to note that his 41 home runs last season were a career-high that he matched once before in 2019. He needed a Major League leading 715 PA in 2019 and a Major League leading 735 PA and 643 AB in 2023.

Last time that Ronald Acuna Jr. was coming back from injury, he batted .266/.351/.413 (2022), and both his power (15 home runs) and speed (29 stolen bases) were down. Will another leg injury cause him to stop running as hard? Will his power "take a year off"? It's important to add that he hasn't been consistent throughout his career. Time will tell how he'll do in 2025.