Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Perfect on bases at Double-A
Rotowire
Acuna is hitting .302 with three home runs, 18 steals on 18 attempts and a 118 wRC+ in 40 games for Double-A Frisco.
His 50.8 percent groundball rate is a little high, but Acuna's 23 percent line-drive rate and 12.1 percent infield-flyball rate are the best marks of his career. Additionally, his 28.9 percent hard-hit rate is easily a career high. Acuna is not the same type of high-impact offensive player as his big brother, Ronald Acuna, but he is an elite athlete at 5-foot-8 and could feasibly play anywhere on the diamond. His success rate on the bases suggests that will always be a big part of his game.
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Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Protected from Rule 5 draft
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Acuna was added to the Rangers' 40-man roster Tuesday, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.
One of Ronald Acuna's younger brothers, Luisangel hit .278/.367/.425 with a 23.6 percent strikeout rate, 11 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 91 games across High-A and Double-A as a 20-year-old. At roughly 5-foot-8, he lacks his big brother's power potential and physicality, but Acuna is still ahead of schedule on his ascent up the organizational ladder.
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Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Returns from IL
Rotowire
Acuna (hamstring) was reinstated from High-A Hickory's 7-day injured list Thursday and has gone 1-for-7 with two walks and two runs in his first two games since being activated.
Acuna was sidelined for just under a month with the strained hamstring he sustained in his High-A debut in early April. The younger brother of Ronald Acuna is expected to spend the majority of the 2022 campaign with Hickory.
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Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Working toward return
Rotowire
Acuna (hamstring) is rehabbing in extended spring training and should return to High-A Hickory late next week, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Acuna strained his hamstring in Hickory's season opener and was originally supposed to miss at least two weeks. It looks as though he'll miss approximately three weeks instead, but he's trending in the right direction and shouldn't have his development set back significantly.
Acuna will miss at least two weeks with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Acuna suffered the injury during High-A Hickory's season opener Friday. As long as the injury remains a fairly short-term problem, it shouldn't significantly set his development back this season.
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Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Expected to start 2022 in High-A
Rotowire
Acuna is expected to open 2022 at High-A Hickory, according to Baseball America.
He got off to a terrible start last season, so his final batting line (.266/.345/.404) at Low-A doesn't jump off the page. That said, Acuna was only 19, and he ended up hitting 12 homers and swiping 44 bases, with his 10.4 percent walk rate offering some promise as well. He'll likely never develop the power that his brother, Ronald, has shown off in the majors, but Luisangel is flashing plenty of promise in his own right. It's not unreasonable to think that a big 2022 could get him on the radar for a promotion sometime in 2023.
