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Atlanta Braves: Where Austin Riley should hit, how he affects the defense

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 28: Willy Adames #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays walks to the on-deck circle in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on August 28, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 28: Willy Adames #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays walks to the on-deck circle in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on August 28, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 03: Centerfielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. #13 and second baseman Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves jump and high five after the game against the Chicago Cubs on April 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 03: Centerfielder Ronald Acuna, Jr. #13 and second baseman Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves jump and high five after the game against the Chicago Cubs on April 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

The time has finally come as the Atlanta Braves promoted top prospect Austin  Riley to the big leagues on Wednesday.

There is a lot to dissect with the Atlanta Braves calling him up, and we’ve already covered a few different topics on the website.

What to expect from Austin Riley

Austin Riley’s valuable versatility 

What uniform number will he get — what does it mean

But what Atlanta Braves fans really want to know, is the impact he will have on this team both in the lineup and on the field.

And as excited as we are about Austin Riley being promoted, not everything in this article will be positive. I think there could be some real negatives with calling up Riley right now.

But there is no question that he not only brings excitement to the fanbase, which is desperately needed in the midst of an unimpressive season, and hopefully to the team as well.

The Atlanta Braves have been hovering around .500 all year, which is quite disappointing considering they are coming off an NL East title.

Many fans expected this team to take another step forward this season and become a top contender in the NL, but as our MLB Power Rankings point out, we’re a middle of the pack team in the NL.

And any fan who spends much time on Twitter knows how upset Braves fans are right now, and rightfully so — to a degree.

We get the impression that the front office views this as another rebuilding season, and not an opportunity to go for it all.

I certainly understand both sides, but this team needs something, and Austin Riley has the ability to be that spark.

Maybe not to the degree that Ronald Acuna Jr. provided a spark in 2018, but this move has to be refreshing for the team and the fanbase.

But how will it work out?

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