This Stat Proves Braves Need to Find a Home for Austin Riley When Ender Inciarte Comes Back

If you're just a casual baseball fan, you may not be familiar with Austin Riley.

Allow me to fill you in: the kid can mash.

Riley is the 34th best prospect in baseball (according to MLB.com) and the fourth best prospect in Atlanta's farm system. His calling card has always been his power, and after Ender Inciarte was placed on the Injured List, the path was paved for Riley to show off what he could do.

Simply put, his power has been as advertised.

Riley hasn't wasted any time getting comfortable in his new threads, as in his first six games, he's slashing .409/.435/.864 and has gone yard three times in just 22 at-bats. Riley has crushed the ball to the tune of a 1.298 OPS and a 94.6 average exit velocity - faster than Bryce Harper, J.D. Martinez, and Javier Baez.

This has created a bit of a sticky situation for Atlanta's front office. What happens to Riley when their All-Star Inciarte inevitably comes back? Well, if there's one stat that shows why Riley has to stay in the lineup, it's this one.

No, that's not a typo. Riley's power has been on full display since his call-up, and judging only on what he's done since his promotion from Triple-A Gwinnett, there's no way Riley should be the one losing his spot on the 25-man roster when Inciarte gets healthy again.

We may have a Michael Chavis situation on our hands. A little third base, a little outfield...either way, Riley has to stay.