5 reasons to root for Acuña in Derby

Ronald Acuña Jr. has already established himself as one of the most exciting young players in Major League Baseball, and the 21-year-old superstar will be looking to add to his already impressive resume at the Home Run Derby in Cleveland.

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Acuña, who has hit his share of no-doubters this season, has a chance to make history on both a personal and franchise level at Progressive Field on Monday.

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Oh, and he's also just pretty fun to watch at the plate.

With that in mind, here are five reasons to pull for Acuña at next week's Derby:

1) He’s aiming for history

At just 21 years old, Acuña will be looking to become the youngest winner in Home Run Derby history. That honor currently belongs to Juan Gonzalez, who was just 23 years old in 1993, when he defeated fellow 23-year-old -- and future Hall of Famer -- Ken Griffey Jr. in a tiebreaker round. Of course, Acuña won't even be the youngest competitor in this year's event, with 20-year-old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. becoming the youngest player to ever even compete in the Home Run Derby.

Acuña has already eclipsed the 20-homer plateau this season after hitting 26 as a rookie last year. He's one of just 10 players to hit at least 20 homers in each of his first two seasons, with both coming at age 21 or younger. The others are Carlos Correa, Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Bob Horner, Tony Conigliaro and Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda, Frank Robinson, Eddie Mathews and Ted Williams. Acuña is also on the verge of becoming just the 14th player to hit 50 homers before turning 22 years old.

2) He hits 'em hard and far

Acuña could benefit from the bonus time that participants earn if they slug two homers at least 440 feet in the same round. After all, Acuña's average home run distance is 421 feet, which ranks third among all players with at least 10 homers this season. He's hit four that have traveled beyond that 440-foot threshold.

Acuña's homers also come off the bat with an average exit velocity of 108.2 mph, fifth hardest among that same group of 10-homer players. The only players with a higher average exit velocity on their home runs are Joey Gallo, Gary Sanchez, Bryce Harper and Pete Alonso.

3) He’s scoffing at the ‘sophomore slump’

Acuña will look to bring home the Derby trophy after already earning National League Rookie of the Year honors just last season. Ryan Howard is the only player to win the Home Run Derby as the reigning Rookie of the Year. The former Phillies slugger was named NL Rookie of the Year in 2005, then put on a show to win the '06 Home Run Derby at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Aaron Judge won the 2017 Home Run Derby on his way to being name Rookie of the Year that same season.

4) There’s a first time for everything

The Braves have had their share of sluggers, but Acuña is attempting to become the first Atlanta player to win the Home Run Derby since its inception in 1985. Freddie Freeman became the ninth different Braves player to participate last year -- including Chipper Jones, who competed three separate times -- but Braves hitters are a combined 0-for-11 in attempting to bring home the trophy. Along with Freeman and Jones, the other Atlanta players to take their hacks in the Derby were Dale Murphy, Ozzie Virgil Jr., David Justice, Fred McGriff, Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield and Andruw Jones.

The Braves are one of 11 teams that have never had a player win the Home Run Derby, though they are the only NL East team that has never crowned a winner.

5) Acuña, meet Abreu

A dozen Venezuelan players have had at least one 30-homer season in the big leagues, but only one has ever won a Home Run Derby. That honor belongs to Bobby Abreu, who put on an absolute show at the 2005 Home Run Derby at Comerica Park in Detroit. Abreu hit 24 homers in the first round en route to hitting 41 total, which stood as the record for a single Home Run Derby until they introduced the timed format in '15. Miguel Cabrera has reached the 30-homer plateau 10 times, the most by any Venzuelan player, but he did not win either of the Derbies he entered.