Ronald Acuna Jr.'s brother called a bust for White Sox for one simple reason

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Ronald Acuna Jr.'s brother called a bust for White Sox for one simple reason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Chicago White Sox are having a great 2026 season, just one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead, and two games up on the third Wild Card team.

But, while the overall season has gone well, there are still a few parts of the year that have presented some major disappointments. One of those is the brother of Ronald Acuna Jr., Luisangel Acuna.

Even though Luis Robert Jr., the player the White Sox traded to acquire Acuna from the New York Mets, is on the injured list, the label associated with Acuna, according to Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report, might be a worse outcome.

"While Acuna, 24, has provided some defensive flexibility on the southside, he's hitting just .181 with a .435 OPS," Kelly writes. "It's great that he can play both middle infield positions and in the outfield, but that only matters if he can couple it with some offensive production."

So far in 2026, Acuna hasn't shown nearly enough offensively to avoid the "bust" label. Kelly is calling Acuna a bust for a simple reason: his offensive production. If he can't turn things around offensively, this label will be appropriate for Acuna.

Luisangel Acuna called a bust for poor offensive production​

Ronald Acuna Jr. is one of the best hitters in the Majors, and he's been an All-Star and MVP candidate for the Atlanta Braves since his debut.

The younger Acuna brother, who is still just 24 years old, isn't doing nearly enough to avoid a bust label at the moment.

MORE: 75% of Mets' infielders named among biggest disappointments in MLB at their positions

After two solid stints with the Mets in 2024 and 2025, he's been a liability offensively for the White Sox offense. While his 63 OPS+ in 2025 was well below average, it's gotten way worse in 2026 with a 23 OPS+.

Acuna has been one of the worst hitters in the sport this season. Even though he might have ideal positional versatility, he's not actually good enough of a hitter to justify maintaining a lineup spot at the moment.

The White Sox utilityman, and brother of Ronald Acuna Jr., is closing in on "bust" status. And unfortunately, thanks to his poor offensive production, such a label would be well-deserved at this rate.

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