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Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on 3B Austin Riley

By Benjamin Chase

Aug 16, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin (25) (in the pile) reacts with team mates after hitting a lead off walk off home run to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks during the tenth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Diamondbacks 2-1 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 16, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin (25) (in the pile) reacts with team mates after hitting a lead off walk off home run to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks during the tenth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Diamondbacks 2-1 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 16, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin (25) (in the pile) reacts with team mates after hitting a lead off walk off home run to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks during the tenth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Diamondbacks 2-1 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 16, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin (25) (in the pile) reacts with team mates after hitting a lead off walk off home run to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks during the tenth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Diamondbacks 2-1 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Austin Riley worked with Atlanta Braves minor league coaching to have a big second half in 2016. Can he continue in 2017?

Player Profile

The Atlanta Braves drafted Austin Riley out of high school in Mississippi with the 41st overall selection in 2015.

Riley was highly-regarded as a pitcher by many teams, and a number of teams had Riley higher-rated as a pitcher than a hitter, leading to his drafting surprising many draft pundits where the Braves selected him, especially as a third baseman.

The Braves sent Riley to their Gulf Coast League rookie team, where he showed very good power. After just 30 games, the Braves promoted Riley to Danville in the advanced rookie Appalachian League.

Combined between both levels, Riley came to the plate 252 times, hitting .304/.389/.544 with 12 home runs and a 26/65 BB/K ratio. His significant power led to Baseball Prospectus rating him as the #79 overall prospect after 2015.

Riley opened at low-A Rome in the South Atlantic League in 2016 and spent the entire season there. He initially struggled as he worked through issues with velocity and hard breaking stuff and made some adjustments to his swing and his positioning in the box.

Overall in the season, Riley hit .271/.324/.479 with 20 home runs and 39 doubles, posting a 39/147 BB/K ratio in 543 plate appearances. The more impressive thing was that from June 1 through the end of season, Riley hit .285/.343/.542 with 17 of his home runs and a 27/81 BB/K over 344 plate appearances.

Next: Riley's scouting report

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