Atlanta Braves: Top 5 MLB Debut Seasons of 2019
By Seth Carter
3. Atlanta Braves Debut 2019 – Austin Riley
After his first month in the big leagues, you never would have guessed that Austin Riley would finish third out of five debuting players in total rWAR for the season. However, we all remember how the season broke down (literally) for Riley.
His propensity for striking out combined with the ability of major league pitchers to adapt and learn the holes in his swing led to a meltdown of epic proportions. Riley was one of the best and one of the worst stories of the 2019 Braves.
He teased us with his potential, hosting us up into the clouds and it was glorious. Then he grabbed us by the throats and choke-slammed us down to his floor, which was a long way down. It hurt.
Hopefully, Riley and the Braves will be able to make the necessary adjustments in upcoming seasons so we can all enjoy the power he brings to the plate.
Here’s how good Riley was last season, bear with me here. In the second half of last season, Riley had a .161 batting average with 39 strikeouts in 87 at-bats with only two homers and eight RBI, and he still finished with a positive rWAR for the year.
That’s how good he was in May and June. He hit 14 homers in just 165 at-bats. At the time of his call-up, he already had 15 homers through 37 games in Gwinnett. By mid-June, he had people asking if he had the clutch-gene.
By the end of the season, he finished with a 0.1 rWAR, which was good for third-best on the team among debuting players in 2019.