The hot stove season has nothing on prospect season. Now that we are past some service time deadlines and close enough to others to get creative in manipulation, the call-ups are coming in fast.
Austin Riley just took top honors on the weekly top 10 this week, but his stay at the top didn't last long. That's a good thing in this case, of course, because Riley is now a member of the Atlanta Braves. With Ender Inciarte on the injured list, the Braves made the move to promote the slugging prospect. Here's a visual of the kind of power display Riley is capable of:
Braves prospect Austin Riley absolutely crushes a 492-foot bomb!
The catcher's reaction says it all �� pic.twitter.com/IdBXfzfDFv
- Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) May 2, 2019
What he can do
Riley is in the midst of an incredible power binge. Since the calendar turned to May, he is hitting .360/.458/1.020 with 10 home runs in 59 plate appearances. It has been a tremendous display of plus power. Riley posted back-to-back 20-homer seasons in 2016 and 2017. He smashed 19 in 2018, but missed time due to injury. He will shatter that mark by the All-Star break.
He does have some typical slugger traits: he is prone to the strikeout and I do not see any batting titles in his future. That said, we are talking about someone who is turning plus raw power into plus game power. As a full-timer, Riley is a 30-homer threat. He has traditionally been a third baseman, but will play left field in this current alignment of Braves defenders with Ronald Acuna Jr. moving to center. Given Josh Donaldson's history and age at third, Riley could carry and maintain dual eligibility.
What to expect
I would expect Riley's power to transition well. He is not a product of an outlandish offensive environment or anything like that. It is legit 70-grade power. He may struggle with some strikeouts and that will bring down his average. That said, even with a .250 average, he could smash 20 home runs from here on out with eligibility in the outfield and at third base. He will not make an impact on the bases, so we're looking at run-producing categories here: home runs, runs scored and runs batted in. He should be able to produce in all three categories without the cost of a high draft pick or blowing your remaining free-agent budget, if your league has one.