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          Real or Not? Ronald Acuna Jr., instant superstar

          • David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior WriterAug 15, 2018, 07:01 AM
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            • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
            • Former deputy editor of Page 2
            • Been with ESPN.com since 1995

          The first thing that strikes you about Ronald Acuna Jr. is how much this kid enjoys playing the game. He's flat-out fun to watch and not just because he's doing things we've never seen from someone so young. He brings that extra flair that carries the enthusiasm of youth with the air of the spectacular, with his tongue sticking out during a theatrical trot around the bases or a smile as wide as the Atlantic. He's good and he knows he's good, and this is OK.

          The 20-year-old phenom continued to blast his way into the record books with two more home runs in the Atlanta Braves' 10-5 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday:

          Over this historic eight-game run, Acuna has 16 hits and eight home runs, giving us this impressive list of accomplishments:

          A week ago, Acuna was hitting .261/.321/.478. He's now hitting .288/.346/.576, raising his OPS 122 points. There's no other to way put this: When you're this good this fast, you have clearly established not only the possibility of becoming the best player in the game, but comparisons to other 20-year-old stars like Ken Griffey Jr. or Mike Trout no longer feel outrageous or silly.

          In the case of Griffey, that comparison extends beyond the performance on the field. During a week when we heard the needless and silly apology from the Cubs' David Bote for celebrating his walk-off grand slam on Sunday with a bat flip, Acuna is a reminder that --- like when a young Griffey wore his hat backward --- we should just go with it and enjoy the show.

          And what a show it has been. For the season, Acuna has hit nearly everything thrown his way:

          OK, you can get him out with sliders off the plate and sinkers down and away, but he has the bat speed to catch up to any fastball and has shown the precious aptitude to adjust to the slow stuff. There's certainly room for improvement -- his strikeout rate of 28.0 percent and walk rate of 7.3 percent are well below what Trout posted in his age-20 season (21.8 and 10.5 percent) -- but this week of dominance might suggest that those adjustments are already in progress.

          Even if he's not the next Trout -- an impossible standard -- is Acuna at least destined to become an annual MVP candidate like Trout? Sure, with his speed and defense added to his growing power, it's possible. Nothing is guaranteed, of course. Consider what has happened to Cody Bellinger this season. His line from 2017 as a 21-year-old matches up with Acuna's current line:

          Bellinger, 2017: .267/.352/.581
          Acuna, 2018: .288/.346/.576

          Bellinger even had a stretch of eight home runs in eight games (Bellinger was the previous youngest player to hit eight home runs over eight games). Bellinger also showed the ability to hit the fastball and adjust to the off-speed stuff, which seemed to indicate a long future as one of the premier hitters in the game. Instead, he has hit .254/.337/.465, solid enough, but not MVP-type production.

          Anyway, it has been an amazing stretch for the Braves' outfielder. Let's see what happens Wednesday. Nine in nine?

          We don't like each other: Benches cleared in the San Francisco Giants' 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Yasiel Puig in the middle of the action:

          Puig and Giants catcher Nick Hundley were both ejected and will probably receive a one-game suspension for shoving each other, but the bigger picture is the Giants won the game on Alen Hanson's go-ahead single in the top of the ninth -- the fourth straight game the Dodgers have lost on their opponents' final at-bat. Courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau research: That's the first time that has happened in Dodgers franchise history.

          While the bullpen blues are of major concern, the offense has dried up of late. Since beating the Brewers 21-5 on Aug. 2, the Dodgers are 3-8 while hitting .219/.289/.364. Manny Machado has hit .258/.345/.392 since joining the Dodgers with only two home runs and six RBIs in 25 games. Matt Kemp has predictably regressed from his hot start and is hitting .155 with two home runs in 22 games since the All-Star break. The bullpen needs to fix the late-inning issue, but it has become an issue because the offense is no longer carrying the team.

          The A's are one game behind the Astros: Man, an Astros-Yankees wild-card game would be something, wouldn't it? The A's are now 50-0 when leading after seven innings, beating the Mariners 3-2. Here's your nightly Matt Chapman highlight:

          Jed Lowrie did double damage to the Mariners. He knocked out James Paxton in the first inning with a liner off Paxton's left arm (X-rays were negative, but Paxton will miss at least one start). Lowrie later had a two-run home run off Felix Hernandez.

          Meanwhile, Justin Verlander failed to pick up career win No. 200 as the Rockies won 5-1, scoring three runs in the late innings against the Houston bullpen. The Astros haven't won a home game since July 14 as they've lost nine straight at Minute Maid. The lineup, still missing Jose Altuve, George Springer and Brian McCann, continues to struggle as the Astros have hit .219/.298/.377 in the second half while averaging 3.95 runs per game (compared to 5.05 in the first half).