In 2018, Ronald Acuña Jr. stood as the Atlanta Braves‘ No. 1 prospect. That season, he earned the National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award.
By the end of his campaign, he had logged 26 home runs before his 21st birthday, becoming one of five players to do so in all of baseball.
Acuña’s performance stunned the nation, but now the Braves are in the company of rising star Eric Hartman, who is further cementing himself in MLB history in a separate category.
Braves’ Eric Hartman Follows in Legend Andruw Jones’ Footsteps, Surpasses Ronald Acuña Jr.
On Aug. 29, 20-year-old Hartman surpassed the 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases milestone.
He is now the first minor league player to record these numbers since former MLB star Andruw Jones back in 1995, per MLB Pipeline.
The 20-year-old becomes the first Minor Leaguer since Andruw Jones (1995) to post 25+ HRs and 50+ SBs in a season: t.co/Z9r5xHQabZ
As pointed out by Jack Johnson of MLB.com, “A 25-50 season has been recorded only 15 times in Major League Baseball since 1901.”
This is a feat even Acuña couldn’t nail down in the minors. For reference, in 2017, his last complete minor league season, he hit 21 homers and stole 44 bases.
Hartman now owns 26 homers and 51 stolen bases. He is currently slashing .265/.362/.491 with an .853 OPS through 117 games.
Hartman was selected 611th overall in the 20th round of the 2024 MLB draft. Since then, he’s split time between several minor league levels.
History is being made before our eyes, and if the Braves can retain Hartman, they will be in good hands in years to come.
Snapshot of the Braves As the Postseason Nears
Hartman aside, Atlanta has a large pool of talent aboard in the minors and the big leagues this year, as proven by their third-place ranking in the MLB standings.
At 81-55 overall, they trail the Milwaukee Brewers (85-51) and the Tampa Bay Rays (81-54) in first and second, respectively.
Of course, the Braves lead the NL East by a notable margin. The Philadelphia Phillies (76-60) land in second, followed by the Miami Marlins (68-68), the Washington Nationals (65-73) and the New York Mets (61-75).
FanGraphs’ latest MLB Playoff Odds, as of Aug. 30, give Atlanta an 88.6% chance of winning its division and a 7.3% chance of winning the World Series this year.
The Braves are currently riding a stunning six-game winning streak after their latest 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
With one more clash remaining in the three-game series at Truist Park, Atlanta is looking to make a clean sweep of the set. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 30, at 1:35 p.m. ET.
On Monday, Aug. 31, the Braves will face the San Francisco Giants at 6:05 p.m. ET, but only one game is scheduled.
Following the Braves-Giants meeting, Atlanta will head to Nationals Park to face Washington for a two-game set.
They will then end the week and enter the weekend with a four-game series against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
The postseason is approaching quickly, and Atlanta is ultimately trying to further solidify itself as a series contender for the highly touted World Series.
Atlanta Braves’ Eric Hartman Just Did Something Ronald Acuña Jr. Couldn’t Pull Off