Ronald Acuña Jr. and Willson Contreras began the season struggling to make solid contact. Through the first two weeks of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, they didn’t hit hard; However, in the recent challenges in Atlanta and Boston, respectively, they showed that they maintain the power and vision necessary to help their teams in the long season.
Last week, Acuña Jr. hit his first home run of 2026 and recorded a string of five hitting games. This is good news for the Venezuelan player with the greatest potential in the Majors. The Braves outfielder posted a .323 average in the last seven games, with a home run, three doubles and a triple. Unlike the first nine games of the campaign, in which he hit just .179, in the last five he has hit the ball with greater force, adding six extra-base hits in that period.
Acuña Jr. raised his average to .242 (15 hits in 62 at-bats) with an OPS of .720. The Venezuelan best placed in the ranking of the 100 best MLB players began to gain rhythm and this season he is expected to reach 1,000 hits and 200 home runs.
The hot ones
Willson Contreras is the hottest Creole of the moment. Last week he hit the ball hard and got on the “.300 horse.” After eight games without being able to reach the league, the Red Sox first baseman maintains a positive streak in his last seven games: 11 hits (including two full-round hits), five walks and nine RBIs; His average of .423 in that period confirms his great moment.
Contreras unleashed his power last Sunday with a home run – his third of the year – and three RBIs in Boston’s victory against the Cardinals (9-3). The fourth bat of the “redlegs” woke up.
For its part, Wilyer Abreu remains the best hitter among Venezuelans with an average of .339. The Red Sox outfielder has 20 hits, of which four are doubles, one triple and three home runs, adding nine RBIs. Winner of the Gold Glove in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the Zulian is in his fourth year with the Boston team.
Maikel García hit .300 during the last five games (6 hits in 20 at-bats), with a home run, a double, five runs scored and an RBI. He remains the fifteenth best hitter in the “Young Circuit” with an overall average of .306.
For the Astros, the experienced José Altuve is hitting .333 with seven extra-base hits (five home runs and a pair of home runs). The waiter had a week of four rockets in 20 at-bats, but remains among the best averages in the American League. Altuve surpassed the barrier of 2,400 hits and everything indicates that he will complete a new hundred hits this season. Finally, Luis Arráez, true to his consistency, is hitting .304 after hitting seven hits in 24 at-bats last week.
Intractable Rodriguez
Eduardo Rodríguez remains the Diamondbacks’ most reliable pitcher. In 18 full innings he has barely allowed one earned run, with 11 strikeouts and only five walks. He is currently the pitcher with the best ERA (0.50) in the Majors and his next start is scheduled for this Wednesday in Baltimore against the Orioles.
The left-hander dominated the Dodgers, Braves and Mets. In his last start against the New York team he completed 6.0 innings of one earned run (solo home run by Luis Robert Jr.), with two walks and three strikeouts to add his first victory of the campaign.
