Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was named National League Rookie of the Year on Monday.
He received 27 first-place votes and three seconds for 144 points. Fellow international phenom Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals got two firsts and 89 points, and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler was next with one first and 28 points, according to ESPN.
Acuña slashed .293/.366/.552 with 26 homers, 64 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 78 runs scored in 111 games, all at the tender age of 20 years old.
“First of all, I would like to give thanks to God, my family, my parents and to all my teammates who’ve always supported me from the first day that I got the call to the big leagues,” Acuna said in a statement released by the team. “This award represents all our hard work as a team this season.”
A Venezuela native, Acuna signed with the Braves as an international free agent in 2014. After hitting .325 with 21 home runs across three different minor league levels in 2017, he entered the 2018 season ranked as the top prospect in baseball by ESPN’s Keith Law.
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