Braves manager, Brian Snitker, told reporters prior to the Saturday night game some interesting words…
Austin Riley, ever heard the name? If not, you’ll want to remember it. The 21-year-old is the Atlanta Braves number eight ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline and is working his way to the big leagues quickly.
The third baseman started the 2018 season with the Mississippi Braves (Double-A), but was promoted to Gwinnett Stripers (Triple-A) after just 27 games. He hit .333 with 10 doubles, three triples and six home runs. In only 99 at-bats he had 20 RBIs and scored 17 runs.
He’s played in only five games so far for the Stripers, but is hitting .300 (prior to tonight’s game) with one double, one RBI and two runs scored.
He’ll need some more time at this level, but he’s on his way!
In fact, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters prior to the game that if the Braves run into any third base issues, he wouldn’t have any hesitancy to bring up Riley.
#Braves' Snitker said if something happened at majors and they needed a 3B, he wouldn't have any hesitancy on bringing up Austin Riley from Triple-A.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 12, 2018
Snitker just got all our hopes up just a little! Though, I don’t see the Braves calling up the power-hitter any time soon, it does mean that it’s on their minds. The Braves already have a bunch of Baby Braves part 2 on their big league roster — Ronald Acuna, Ozzie Albies, Mike Soroka, Luiz Gohara — so why not add one more.
The Braves came into the 2018 season with what many people thought a hole at third base. Especially when Johan Camargo went down with an injury. Ryan Flaherty showed up huge in the first month of the season, but we all knew he wouldn’t be the answer at the hot corner.
Alex Anthopoulos signed veteran slugger José Bautista to bring some pop to the lineup. Though the threat is there, he’s currently batting .143 with no home runs and one RBI. If he doesn’t start producing, how long do the Braves keep him around?
Camargo could shift back to playing third base full-time once Dansby Swanson returns, but it seems like the Braves wanted Johan to be more of a utility guy. He’s not hitting particularly well either. He’s batting .205 for the 2018 season and .100 in his last seven games.
Next: Mark Bradley wants to sell the farm for Machado
Heck, maybe we will see Riley soon.
The Braves drafted the 6’3″ 220-pounder in the 1st round (41st overall) of the 2015 MLB Draft out of DeSoto Central High School. Since he was drafted, in his first four seasons he’s hit 83 doubles, eight triples and 58 home runs.