Three Takeaways From Braves Austin Riley's Recent Surge

The Atlanta Braves' third baseman has been one run as of late, looking more like his All-Star self with each trip to the plate

Here are the key observations from the Braves' third man experiencing a resurgence | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Austin Riley had another big night for the Atlanta Braves on Friday. He delivered his first multi-home run game of the season en route to a 9-0 win over the Phillies.

It was his biggest step in what we've been observing as a resurgence. With a solid sample size assembled, it's time for some takeaways. Here's three that we got from Riley's recent run.

Opposite-Field Power is the Biggest Statement

During this recent surge, Riley has finally found his power stroke. He pulled his first home run of the season to left field on Wednesday to finally get that major sigh of relief. Since then, the damage has been to opposite field. 

He hit a screaming double to right-center field in the at-bat following the first home run of the season. During Friday’s win over the Phillies, both of his home runs were to right field. 

He’s now batting .400 with a 1.200 OPS to opposite field. 

“That’s really a good sign,” manager Walt Weiss said on Wednesday. “ As we all know, when you’re hitting the ball hard the other way, you’re doing a lot of things right.” 

The swings were already better before the past couple of games. Now, we have more certainty that he’s more comfortable up there.

He's Starting to Deliver, But Braves Need Him When Pressure is On

Riley is delivering in the spots where the Braves need him to. With runners in scoring position, he’s batting .318 with a .945 OPS. Some key splits he’s been delivering specifically include when runners are on both second and third, with one or two outs.

However, it should be noted that he's helping tack on as opposed to delivering in the toughest spots, at least for now.

In what is considerd to be high-leverage situations, he's batting .143 with a .286 OPS. With the way, he's hitting, these stats should start to turn the corner too, but it's still worth pointing out.

He's starting to help tack on. It's a good starting point. We'll see if this translates to delivering in more clutch situations.

His Defense Has Complemented His Offense Well

The Braves third baseman has looked solid all-around, not just at the plate. He's bee playing clean defense all season, and has already made some nice diving stops, including during Friday night’s win.

He’s gone eight games without an error, which coincides nicely with how he's been hitting. No issues with his bat or with his glove. It's music to the team's ears.

It's also a nice sign relative to where his defense was compared to recent seasons. He finished last season with a -2 defensive runs saved (DRS). So far, it's at zero. It's not crazy, but it's a solid step in the right direction.

During his seasons where he was an All-Star and received MVP votes (2021 to 2023), Riley never had a DRS below 7. It'll be worth keeping an eye on his defense to see how much further that continues to come along in the same manner as his hitting.

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