The Atlanta Braves offense is struggling mightily right now. There's no two ways around it as fans suffered through a blowout home loss to the Brew crew last night. However, one man has continued getting better as the 2024 season has progressed. That man is, Austin Riley.
The Braves third baseman started slow, but has turned the corner in the summer months. His latest hot streak can be attributed to one specific thing. His newfound dad strength. Yes, it was well documented that Austin Riley and his wife Anna welcomed their second son into the world near the end of July. Luckily for the Braves, since coming back Riley has been putting the dad strength on full display.
Austin Riley continues to crush the baseball
This isn't the first time Austin Riley has utilized the birth of a child to fuel a hot run. After the birth of Riley's first son in 2022, Austin went on a torrid stretch of crushing baseballs. It seems he's trying to repeat that strategy in 2024.
Riley had been hitting the ball hard all year, but he wasn't necessarily getting the results to show for it. However, since the coming back on July 25, Riley owns a .304/.333/.500 slash line. And most importantly, the power has been on full display.
Reservation for Riley ☝️#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/6k7PRvdf0J
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 1, 2024
Since returning from the paternity list, Riley has smashed two home runs and driven in seven runs in 11 games played. His .358 wOBA and 131 wRC+ are third best on the team over that time span (trailing only red-hot Orlando Arcia and Matt Olson).
Now the Braves just need to get healthier in the outfield, and keep the production up from Riley and company. And they need people to step up around Riley in a hurry, because Atlanta has dropped all the way down to the third NL Wild Card spot. In fact, the Braves sit just one game in front of the Mets and from falling out of the postseason completely.