WASHINGTON -- Three of baseball’s greatest young players all having one thing in common.
Their names end the same way.
Ronald Acuña Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are quite possibly the faces of the game for the next decade.
Guerrero was the unanimous top prospect a few years ago for his unbelievable power and hit tools and is enjoying a true breakout campaign. He is leading all of baseball in fWAR (3.5) and is tops in the American League in homers with 18.
In the National League, Acuña has also gone deep 18 times, and he can tack on 11 stolen bases on top of it. Right now, he’s the best Braves outfielder since Andruw Jones. In two or three years, I’m expecting people will be saying he’s the best Braves outfielder since Henry Aaron.
Then there is Tatis, the $340 million man. He’s as electric at the dish and on the basepaths as any player in recent memory and plays a premium position for a World Series contender to boot. If it wasn’t for a pair of injuries sidelining him for a bit, he’d probably be leading the league in just about every offensive category.
So if you can only have on, who would it be?
If we are purely picking just the player, I’d pick Tatis. What he brings to a game cannot be overstated. Power, speed, energy. There’s a reason why Major League Baseball is trying their best to market him. Because they know he might be the best player in the game today.
Now if only he could stay healthy.
But if we’re taking contracts into consideration, then Acuña by a mile. That eight-year, $100 million deal looks like highway robbery right now. Imagine being so good that a nine-figure salary is one of baseball’s most team-friendly contracts.
YOUR TURN: If you could only pick one “Jr.” player, who would it be?