Benefits of Austin Riley as Atlanta Braves everyday third baseman in 2020
By Seth Carter
The Next Adum Dunn?
Between Triple-A and the majors, Riley hit 33 combined-homers in only 458 at-bats — the power is for real.
If Riley ends up being a second coming of Adam Dunn, Atlanta Braves’ fans shouldn’t be upset. Dunn was a two-time All-Star and hit 462 career homers. He also led the league in strikeouts four times with a career average of .237.
Dunn walked a lot more than Riley has shown the ability to do thus far, but he’s still young. Improvement of his strikeout and walk numbers doesn’t mean mastery.
Riley may never be a 100-walk guy, but he showed he had the ability to be patient at the plate in the higher levels of the minors.
In Double-A he had a .391 OBP and .353 in Triple-A. Hope remains that he will make adjustments to Major League pitching.
Riley’s natural position is third base. If Donaldson signs with another team, Riley will get a real chance at claiming a permanent spot in the infield.
If the Atlanta Braves choose to go with Riley over signing a big-name free agent (or trading for one) then there will be a lot more money to allocate toward pitching.
If the Riley experiment doesn’t work out, the Braves can easily plug a quality player like Johan Camargo in at third. They have veteran insurance policies in force in case Riley just can’t figure out Major League pitching.
Riley turns 23 at the beginning of the 2020 season, there is no sense in burying him in the minors or on the bench until he is in his mid-20’s.
Sometimes you have to take a risk and see if the player develops. As mentioned, he has already proven himself against minor league competition. It’s time to prove himself in the majors over the course of a full season.
Next. What should Braves offer JD. dark
What do you think? Should the Braves give Riley a shot to open the season at third base and focus on the open budget space on starting pitching? Do you think Donaldson is more important than having extra money on pitching?