Braves hitting coach thinks Ronald Acuna’s struggles are due to chasing 40-40 club

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna has a shot at making history this season, but his one of his coaches thinks that he may be gunning for it a little too hard.

Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said on Friday that he believes Acuna’s recent struggles are due to him chasing the 40-40 club.

“I think he’s trying to do a little too much right now, pushing towards 40,” said Seitzer, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. “That’s where he’s at. So we just got done having a talk. We’re going to adjust his routine a little bit in the [batting] cage to try to get him more flattened out [with his swing]. Because when guys try to do too much, they lose the barrel, and he’s underneath it — everything he’s swinging and missing, he’s underneath it.

“He’s been getting pitched backwards a little bit — early count, get-me-over breaking stuff that he’s not ready to go on when he’s looking for a heater,” Seitzer went on. “And then he’s getting the heaters after he gets a get-me-over [breaking ball]. So he’s getting pitched tough, but at the same time, I think that a lot of it is just trying to do a little too much, which is normal. Kid’s having a special year.”

The 21-year-old Acuna is at 36 home runs and 31 stolen bases on the year with 26 games left to play, giving him a legitimate chance to post just the fifth 40-40 season in MLB history. But he is currently mired in an 8-for-48 (.167) slump and is now tied for the MLB lead with 159 strikeouts.

Acuna has also had other lapses in judgment in recent days, but it’s hard to blame him for pursuing such an ultra-rare feat, especially at such a young age.