Braves Austin Riley Brings Hope of Turnaround on Opening Day

Austin Riley came into the 2026 campaign looking to start fresh. To complement that surgically repaired abdomen, the Atlanta Braves' third baseman is sporting a fresh flow and a beard. A new look for a new year. The goal is to put the roller coaster couple of seasons behind him and get back to his All-Star form.

On opening day, he assembled a strong first performance. At the plate, Riley went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. He played his part in a Braves 6-0 win over the Royals.

He was able to get a piece of three pitches that came in on the inside half of the plate and drive them to different parts of the field. One went to right, another to center and a third that snuck passed shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

"He looked like he was on a mission in spring training, "Chris Sale said of Riley after the game. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised."

Manager Walt Weiss said that Riley had made some subtle changes to his swing. The result was that the ball was coming off the bat a little differently. It translated to three singles on the night.

A solid night at the plate is only half of what was a stellar opening day. He flashed the glove and made a nice play to snag a line drive from Vinnie Pasquatino in the top of the sixth inning to end the inning. With two outs and a runner on second, that run scores easily if it gets by him.

Defensive plays were what took him out last season. Being able to come back and immediately resume putting your body on the line is a promising sign.

"He's always been a great defender," Weiss said. "Really athletic for that big body. He moves around pretty well and made a hell of a play on that line drive."

For those who have been watching the Braves for a bit, this is a step closer to Riley looking like the top third baseman many had come to know him as. From 2021 to 2023, he finished at least seventh in MVP voting each year and made the National League All-Star team twice.

He played at least 159 games each of those seasons while batting .286, with a .878 OPS, and averaging 36 home runs and 99 RBIs.

The 2024 and 2025 seasons saw him plagued with injuries, some freak, and a performance below his standard when he was available for action. He missed over 50 games in each of those seasons while batting .258 with a .760 OPS and hitting 35 total home runs and driving a combined 110 runs.

Again, his floor is still the ceiling of many other players in the league, but he's not going to settle for being just good or solid. That's not an option after being named the best third baseman in the league during his career.

After one game, all is looking better. There's a lot more baseball left, but the first game can be enjoyed for now. The Braves are no strangers to All-Stars making a comeback. They've seen it happen over the last two seasons with Chris Sale and Ronald Acuña Jr. A third teammate to follow would make for a good story.