ARLINGTON -- Ronald Acuña Jr. has been one of the best hitters in the Majors this season, and he continued his historic start with another big performance in the Braves’ lopsided 12-0 victory over the Rangers on Monday night at Globe Life Field.

In the second inning, after Kevin Pillar hit a two-run home run, Acuña followed his first-inning walk with a monstrous two-run blast to continue the abrupt welcome to The Show for Texas rookie Cody Bradford, who was making his MLB debut.

The MVP candidate crushed an 80.4 mph curveball from Bradford, launching it a Statcast-projected 454 feet into the left-field seats to give the Braves an early 4-0 lead. It was Acuña’s ninth homer of 2023. He is now on pace for an MVP-caliber 35 home runs and 67 stolen bases this season.

Acuña now has 17 450-plus-foot homers in his career (including the playoffs), trailing C.J. Cron (18) for the most in the Majors since the start of 2018.

“The thing that impresses me the most [about Acuña] so far this year is his work ethic,” said third-base coach Ron Washington. “He’s really taken care of detail. In the past, he relied more on his talent, but now he’s really paying attention to detail and making sure his body is ready.”

Orlando Arcia, Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna also clubbed two-run home runs to give the Braves five overall in the game.

Should Acuña achieve the numbers he’s on pace for, he would join an illustrious duo of Eric Davis (37 HR, 50 SB in 1987) and Barry Bonds (33 HR, 52 SB in ‘90) as the only players in AL/NL history to record 30+ home runs and 50+ stolen bases in a single campaign. Even more, he would be the first player with 30+ homers and 60+ stolen bases.

“The biggest key is [Acuña] is healthy,” said manager Brian Snitker. “He’s got his legs under him. If he stays healthy, the numbers are going to be there. He doesn’t have to play for numbers. He’s so talented that if he just stays healthy, the numbers are going to come if he plays his game."

The game certainly appears to be coming easy for the three-time All-Star. Acuña ranks in the top five in the Majors this season in runs (1st, 37), hits (2nd, 55), stolen bases (2nd, 17) and batting average (2nd, .344). He is also just a few points shy of the MLB lead in OPS (1.024) and OBP (.436), ranking second in both categories.

“The way he’s playing right now, [Acuña] is worthy of MVP,” said Washington. “Regardless of what his numbers may be at the end of the year, if [Acuña] continues playing the way he is, he is going to be high on the [MVP] list.”

Acuña’s impressive start to the season has already afforded him Player of the Month honors in April and is a large reason the Braves (26-15) sit atop the National League East by six games.

His impressive blend of power and speed have caused nightmares for opposing pitchers, and the dual-threat outfielder has shown little sign of slowing down.

Over his past 18 games, Acuña is slashing .323/.430/.662 with five multihit performances. He also extended his hitting streak to six with his thunderous blast on Monday night.

And if he increases his home run pace a bit, Acuña could make a push for the elusive 40-40 club. He would be just the fifth player in AL/NL history to record 40+ home runs and 40+ stolen bases in a single season. The 25-year-old finished just shy of the mark in 2019 with 41 homers and 37 steals.

“[Acuña used to] get by on his talent, but now he’s becoming a gamer,” said Washington. “Everything that encompasses the game, he’s now starting to get, which is scary [for opposing teams].”