Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. problem isn't what it appears

It's easy to get concerned in the early going. Slow starts can lead to particularly ugly looking batting averages and other stats.

Like, for example, the .083 batting average put up through the season's opening weekend by Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr.

Is there a problem, though?

Not really.

The key here isn't just the small sample size of 1-for-12, which is hard to draw any conclusions from regardless.

But there's also plenty of data that says Acuna is doing just fine.

Anecdotally, Acuna crushed a ball to straightaway centerfield on Sunday that seemed like it'd be out for a home run before getting caught on the track, so he just missed a big moment there.

And statistically, he's hitting the ball well.

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Acuna so far has an average exit velocity of 92.7 miles per hour, which ranks in the 92nd percentile in MLB. His expected slugging percentage is .535, the 95th percentile in MLB.

As the season goes along, those statistics will begin to align more closely with Acuna's standard counting stats. It's just so early that the randomness and luck of baseball has impacted Acuna's output in a negative way so far.

Don't fret. Acuna is going to be just fine.

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