Who Should You Draft Third Overall in Fantasy Baseball?

Ronald Acuna, OF, Atlanta Braves

NFBC ADP: 8th

Maximum Pick: 3rd

Minimum Pick: 18th

As the Atlanta Braves ascended to the playoffs last year, perhaps a year or two ahead of schedule, Acuna was a major part of that breakthrough. In his rookie campaign, which spanned 487 plate appearances, the outfielder posted 26 homers, 16 steals, and a .388 wOBA.

After donning the leadoff spot for most of the second half of last year, Acuna is making a pitch to hit there again, and it went pretty well last season. He hit .322 out of the top spot, blasting his way to 19 homers and swiping 14 bags over 303 plate appearances in the leadoff role.

While Acuna presents a very solid power-speed combo, there does seem to be a bit of caution we need to proceed with here. Acuna's previous single-season high-water mark for homers was 21 homers, which came across three minor league levels in 2017, and he hit only one dinger in 101 plate appearance in Triple-A in 2018 before his call-up.

While he has shown solid plate discipline, his contact rate was a bit low last season, too. Among the 183 hitters with at least 450 plate appearances, Acuna ranked only 136th with a 74.6% contact rate. So it's no surprise he posted a healthy 25.3% strikeout rate a year ago.

Acuna presents a juicy option at the three-spot with a solid power-speed duo. Unfortunately, if the youngster gets his wish and does indeed bat leadoff, his RBI chances won't be as plentiful as they would be if he hit in the middle of the order, adding some risk to his profile.