Austin Riley

Michael Austin Riley (born April 2, 1997) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Riley was drafted by the Braves in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with them in 2019. He won a Silver Slugger Award in 2021, as well as that year's World Series, as a member of the Braves.

Austin Riley
Riley with the Atlanta Braves in 2020
Atlanta Braves – No. 27
Third baseman
Born: (1997-04-02) April 2, 1997
Memphis, Tennessee
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 15, 2019, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through April 29, 2022)
Batting average.273
Home runs65
Runs batted in195
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Austin Riley is the eldest son of Mike and Elisa Riley.[1][2][3] Riley attended DeSoto Central High School, where he played baseball as a shortstop and pitcher.[4][5] Riley played American football as a quarterback during his freshman and sophomore years in high school. Though he expressed a desire to quit football and focus on baseball, the football coach chose to retain Riley as a punter, a position his father had played at Mississippi State University.[6] Riley was committed to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team until he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2015.[7][8] MSU had also offered Riley the chance to play football for the Bulldogs.[6]

Career

Draft and minor leagues

Riley was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round, with the 41st overall selection, in the 2015 MLB draft out of DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Mississippi.[9][10] Though he was committed to Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team,[11][12] Riley chose to sign with the Braves for $1.6 million.[13] Riley made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Braves that season. After 30 games, he was promoted to the Danville Braves in the Appalachian League. Overall in 60 games he batted .304/.389/.544 with 12 home runs over 217 at-bats, while on defense he committed 16 errors for a .908 fielding percentage.[14][15]

In 2016, he batted .271/.324/.479 with the Rome Braves. On defense, he committed 30 errors at third base.[16]

Riley with the Florida Fire Frogs in 2017

Prior to starting the 2017 season with the Florida Fire Frogs,[17] Riley spent some time in spring training with the Atlanta Braves.[18] He was promoted to the Mississippi Braves in July.[19][20] In 129 games between Florida and Mississippi, Riley hit .275/.339/.446 with 20 home runs and 74 RBIs, while on defense he committed 20 errors at third base.[16] He was assigned to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League at the end of the minor league regular season.[21] Prior to the start of the 2018 season, Riley received an invitation to spring training.[22] He was ranked among the top prospects in the minor leagues prior to the season.[23]

He began 2018 with Mississippi, and after batting .333 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 27 games, and was promoted to the Gwinnett Stripers in May.[24][25] In 75 games with Gwinnett, he hit .282/.346/.464/.810 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI. He opened the 2019 season with Gwinnett.[26]

Atlanta Braves

On May 15, 2019, Riley was called up to the Atlanta Braves prior to their game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Riley was promoted after Ender Inciarte was placed on the injured list.[27][28] He made his major league debut that night and, in his second at bat, hit a home run off Michael Wacha.[29][30] On May 29, 2019 Riley, despite a 14-4 blowout loss to the Nationals, hit his first career grand slam, marking his seventh home run in fourteen career games and bringing his RBI total to twenty. At the time, his seven home runs in fourteen games were the second most to begin a career, trailing only Trevor Story (Aristides Aquino has since passed them both with nine). On June 1, he hit his eighth home run in 16 games, becoming the fourth player in major league baseball history to achieve this feat.[31] He was also the fastest player in Braves franchise history to do so. Riley earned the NL Rookie of the Month Award for May 2019, despite only playing in 15 games.[32]

On August 8, 2019, Riley was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right knee sprain, retroactive to August 5. It was later revealed that Riley had a partial tear in his lateral collateral ligament that he sustained while working out.[33] Riley began a rehab assignment on August 22 with the Rome Braves, and as of September 1 was continuing to rehab with the Gwinnett Stripers.[34]

In 2019 with the Braves he batted .226/.279/.471 with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs in 274 at bats, as on defense he played 58 games in left field, six at first base, five at third base, and two in right field.[35]

In 2020 he batted .239/.301/.415 with 8 home runs and 27 RBIs in 188 at bats. On defense, he played primarily third base (46 games), with four games each at first base and in left field.[35] His six errors were the third-most among NL third basemen.[35]

After beginning the 2021 season in a hitting slump that saw him go 8-for-44 with no extra-base hits, Riley made a significant change to the mental aspect of his at bats, working with minor league hitting coach Mike Brumley to recognize where an off-speed pitch would land, and avoid swinging at the sliders that pitchers had used against him in prior years.[36] After batting in the back half of the lineup through late May, Riley was promoted to cleanup hitter, where he helped push the Braves back to the top of the NL East.[37]

He finished the 2021 season hitting .303 with 33 home runs (10th in the NL), 107 RBIs (2nd), 168 strikeouts (4th), and a .898 OPS, joining Eddie Mathews and Chipper Jones as the only Atlanta third basemen to hit .300 with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in a season at the age of 24 or younger. Ozzie Albies put up similar numbers, and the pair became the fifth set of teammates to individually construct 30-home run, 100-RBI seasons at the age of 24 or younger.[38] On defense, his 14 errors were second-most among NL third basemen, while his 300 assists ranked first.[35]

On October 16, 2021, Riley recorded his first career walk-off hit in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing Ozzie Albies to score and the Braves to win 3–2.[39] In Game 6, Riley had 2 hits and 1 RBI to help the Braves close out the series.[40][41] The Braves would eventually go onto win the 2021 World Series, earning Riley his first World Series ring. After the season ended, Riley and three teammates (Freddie Freeman, Max Fried, and Ozzie Albies) won the Silver Slugger Awards for their respective positions.[42]

Personal life

Riley and his wife, Anna, were married in November 2018.[43][44] They reside in Coldwater, Mississippi.[45] They announced in October 2021 they were expecting their first child,[46][47] and their son was born in April 2022.[48][49][50]

Riley's cousin Keegan James did attend Mississippi State and play baseball there.[6] James was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 25th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[51][52]

References
  1. Hummer, Steve (May 11, 2019). "How long do Braves keep Riley on farm when he's hitting like this?". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  2. "Austin Riley homers in MLB debut, Braves blank Cardinals 4-0". USA Today. ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 15, 2019. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2019. Alt URL
  3. Riley's family watches his debut. Busch Stadium: MLB.com. May 15, 2019. Event occurs at 0:02. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  4. Olney, Buster (May 26, 2019). "Olney: Braves embrace the instant impact of Austin Riley, power prodigy". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  5. Wickham, Pete (April 17, 2014). "Jags, Lewisburg making push for postseason". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  6. Miller, Scott (October 31, 2021). "Saying Yes to Baseball Meant Leaving Football Behind". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  7. Bonner, Michael (June 16, 2015). "Austin Riley expected to sign with Braves on Wednesday". USA Today. Retrieved May 16, 2019 – via The Clarion Ledger.
  8. Bonner, Michael (June 18, 2015). "MSU signee Riley receives bigger bonus than slot value". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  9. Bakken, Bob (June 8, 2015). "DeSoto Central's Riley picked in MLB Draft". DeSoto Times Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  10. Bowman, Mark (June 9, 2015). "Braves turn to power-packed Riley at No. 41". MLB.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  11. Bonner, Michael (June 10, 2015). "MLB drafts six MSU signees, one already agrees to terms". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  12. Bonner, Michael (June 17, 2015). "MSU signee Austin Riley's MLB contract pending approval". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  13. Dykstra, Sam (March 8, 2016). "Braves' Riley ready to build on first season". MILB.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  14. O'Brien, David (February 25, 2015). "Braves have a slugging prospect; Top 50 Albums of 2015". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  15. Dykstra, Sam (February 22, 2016). "Farm System Rankings: Position players". MILB.com. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  16. "Austin Riley Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. Krzus, Thaddeus (April 4, 2017). "Fire Frogs Announce Opening Day Roster". MILB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  18. O'Brien, David (March 4, 2017). "Another 19-year-old, Austin Riley, impresses in Braves camp". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  19. Shanks, Bill (July 12, 2017). "Atlanta Braves promote outfielder Ronald Acuna to Triple-A Gwinnett". Macon Telegraph. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  20. Hudgison, Chris (July 13, 2017). "Ronald Acuna promoted to Gwinnett, Austin Riley promoted to M-Braves". WLBT. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  21. Boor, William (October 12, 2017). "Riley, Braves prospects break out bats in AFL win". MLB.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  22. Bowman, Mark (February 28, 2018). "Mind game: Mental side is Riley's focus". MLB.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  23. "The Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  24. Dykstra, Sam (May 7, 2018). "Braves' Riley earns promotion to Triple-A". MILB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  25. Wilborn, Nubyjas (May 17, 2018). "Riley wants to be next young star in Braves' lineup". Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved May 16, 2019 – via Daily Citizen-News.
  26. "Gwinnett Stripers announce 2019 opening night roster". Gwinnett Daily Post. April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  27. Bowman, Mark (May 15, 2019). "Riley almost misses call to big leagues, literally". MLB.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  28. "Braves prospect Riley to debut; Inciarte to IL". ESPN. Associated Press. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  29. "Braves prospect Riley homers in second at-bat". ESPN. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  30. Bowman, Mark (May 15, 2019). "Braves prospect Riley homers in 2nd MLB AB". MLB.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  31. "Sánchez sparkles as Nationals pound Gausman, Braves 14-4". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  32. Burns, Gabriel (June 3, 2019). "Braves' Austin Riley named NL Rookie of the Month". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  33. "Austin Riley goes on IL with knee sprain". MLB.com. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  34. Tim Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Austin Riley begins rehab assignment Friday after chance to 'reset'". ajc. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  35. "Austin Riley Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  36. Law, Keith (September 6, 2021). "How Austin Riley became the Braves' most valuable player: Keith Law". The Athletic. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  37. O'Brien, David (September 2, 2021). "Braves' Austin Riley credits behind-the-scenes 'hitting guru' for his breakthrough". The Athletic. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  38. Bowman, Mark (October 8, 2021). "Riley makes Braves history in MVP-like year". MLB.com. Advanced Media Group. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  39. "Riley plays G1 hero with HR, walk-off knock". MLB.com.
  40. "MLB Baseball Scores - MLB Scoreboard - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  41. "Atlanta Braves win 2021 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  42. Harrigan, Thomas (November 11, 2021). "'21 Silver Slugger Award winners announced". MLB.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  43. Bakken, Bob (December 7, 2021). "County adds Austin Riley Day declaration". DeSoto County News. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  44. "Anna Harrington and Austin Riley". DeSoto Magazine. June 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  45. https://www.snowdengrovebaseball.com/news_article/show/1081459
  46. Ackerman, Thais (November 21, 2019). "Braves third baseman Austin Riley, wife announce they're pregnant". WXIA. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  47. "Braves World Series champ Austin Riley, wife announce pregnancy". WSBTV. November 21, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  48. "'Our biggest blessing' Braves third baseman Austin Riley, wife Anna welcome baby boy". WBS-TV. April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  49. Raymond, Jonathan (April 22, 2022). "Braves star Austin Riley, wife Anna welcome baby boy". WXIA-TV. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  50. "Atlanta Braves' Austin Riley, wife Anna welcome baby son". WAGA-TV. April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  51. Newman, Kyle (June 5, 2019). "Rockies' picks on the final day of 2019 MLB draft, Rounds 11-40". Denver Post. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  52. Ducote, Nick (June 5, 2019). "8 MSU Players Selected on Final Day of Major League Baseball First Year Draft". WDAM. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
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