Austin Riley's Early Success With Braves Proves He Should Have Been on Opening Day Roster
By Seth Carlson
The Atlanta Braves seem to have a perpetual fountain of young talent in their farm system.
With many of the top prospects drafted and acquired during their long rebuild making an impact at the big league level, we should be quick to notice the meteoric rise and success of the latest Braves phenom, Austin Riley.
When the #Braves traded Craig Kimbrel to San Diego in order to dump B.J. Upton's contract just before opening day four years ago, the return included the 41st pick in the 2015 draft...
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) May 15, 2019
Atlanta selected Austin Riley with that pick.
Riley, who had a 1.057 OPS in 37 games in AAA to begin the year, has continued his torrid hitting pace, with his first career home run on Wednesday night. To follow that up, he went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the Braves' win over the Cards on Thursday.
In his first five career plate appearances, Austin Riley has:
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) May 17, 2019
Home run
Double
Single
The @Braves prospect just rakes. pic.twitter.com/9YVmMjNmqG
Perhaps Riley would have given the team an early shot in the arm to propel their season at the onset of 2019. Instead, the Braves have been hovering around .500 most of the year as they worked out the kinks with Josh Donaldson, and are now hoping this is the right time for Riley to make an impact.
With the NL East continuing to be up for grabs, it's better late than never for the Braves to make sure the best 25 men suit up nightly.