New York Yankees great Alex Rodriguez believes Ronald Acuna Jr. has locked up the NL MVP – “I can’t see anyone playing at a higher level than Acuna”

New York Yankees great Alex Rodriguez cannot get enough of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. this season. The slugger has been playing out of his mind this year and is the favorite to win the National League MVP Award.

Acuna Jr. is one of five players to have joined the 40-40 club (40 home runs and 40 steals in a single season). Rodriguez joined the club in 1998 with the Seattle Mariners.

Rodriguez could not hold back his excitement when speaking about Acuna Jr. He believes that the Braves slugger is the best player in the league and challenges anybody to show him otherwise.

He spoke with The Athletic about Ronald Acuna Jr.’s monster season:

Rodriguez said Acuna Jr. did not just sneak into the 40-40 club; he kicked the door down. While the new rules make more stolen base attempts, that should not detract from how special a season he is having. He leads the league with 70 stolen bases.

The closest player to him is Oakland Athletics speedster Esteury Ruiz, who has swiped 65 bags. The list drops off significantly after those two, as Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll is in third with 52 stolen bases.