Ronald Acuna Jr, the Atlanta Braves' superstar outfielder, was having an incredible season before his ACL injury in July 2021. In this article, we will discuss if Ronald Acuña Jr has fully recovered from his injury. We will analyze his performance this season and his batted-ball data to assess any lasting impact of his injury on his gameplay. The keywords for this article are baseball, Ronald Acuña Jr, MLB, Atlanta Braves, outfielder, ACL, injury, and recovery.

Ronald Acuña Jr returned to action for the Braves in early May 2022 after taking the first month of the year to fully heal from his injury. However, the team opted to have him designated hitter a few days per week in the early going to avoid overtaxing his reconstructed ligament. But since June 2, he has played every single game in right field, a signal from the team that he is fully back.

Let's dive into his performance this season to see if there are any noticeable, lasting impacts hampering him on the diamond. Through his first 40 games in 2022 (through June 21), Acuña was slashing .282/.375/.468, an outstanding batting line but noticeably below his historically amazing .283/.394/.596 mark from last season. While some injury-related factors may have dampened his stats, a look into his game logs and batted-ball data reveals that a small sample and a more passive approach are the main culprits.

However, we can conclude that his injury has not significantly impacted his performance. He ripped three balls harder than 105 mph, including a homer, in the Tuesday game against the Giants. Moreover, his maximum exit velocity this year (116.6) is only slightly below his max from last season (117.9). In conclusion, Ronald Acuña Jr seems to have fully recovered from his ACL injury and is performing excellently this season. Braves fans can expect to see more of his impressive gameplay in the future.