The Braves have been well represented on MLB Network’s Top 100 players list.
Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider, Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Max Fried, and Ronald Acuna Jr. have all made an appearance; the last and highest-ranked member of the organization was just revealed as the 20th-best player in the league entering 2023 — Austin Riley.
The highest-paid member of the Braves had a big 2022. Riley put together the best season of his career, signed a massive 10-year contract, and experienced the birth of his first child. Austin Riley proved the breakout 2021 campaign, in which he accrued 4.7 fWAR, was no fluke.
Riley’s 2021 .303/.367/.531 slash line was parlayed into a franchise-record $212 million deal in the middle of the summer. He put up a career-best 5.5 fWAR, ranking fourth at his position in that metric and wRC+ while smashing 38 home runs, leading all third basemen.
There was a point in time when Austin Riley had quite possibly the most impressive stretch I’ve ever seen around the time he signed the extension. Over the course of 25 games in July, the Braves went 18-7 while Riley hit an unbelievable 423/.459/.885 with a 270 wRC+, which led to NL Player of the Month honors.
However, Riley would end the year on a cold streak, including the NLDS. Over the last couple of months, he slashed just .224/.331/.393 with a 105 wRC+ in 250+ plate appearances. Riley also went 1-for-15 with a walk and five strikeouts in the Braves playoff series against the Phillies. It wasn’t the end we had all hoped for, but Riley is set to compete for MVPs year in and year out.
Regardless of his slight defensive struggles, Riley projects to be an All-Star caliber player with the ability to set the league on fire when he’s hitting like he did this past July for the Braves.
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Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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