The Braves may not be ready to pull back Austin Riley’s playing time yet, but the conversation is clearly there.
Right now, they don’t have many alternatives, and they haven’t made that move to this point. Riley also flashed enough in the middle of the season to make it look, for a brief stretch, like he might be turning things around. That hope has faded fast.
The latest stretch has been rough. Riley went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the day game yesterday, then followed that with another 0-for-3, three-strikeout nightcap that also included a hit-by-pitch.
In the Orioles series, he posted a sub-.300 wOBA and a sub-.200 xwOBA. He had been productive in the three series around the All-Star Break, but in the two series since then, he’s slipped right back into the same struggles.
What changed during that better run was encouraging enough on paper: he was chasing less and swinging at more strikes. Since then, though, he’s gone back to swinging at just about everything.
That’s not ideal, even if it’s still preferable to sitting on strikes and expanding the zone on balls. The problem is that the contact hasn’t been there.
And the Braves aren’t getting much defensive value to offset it. Riley has been marginally below average or worse at third base in every year of his career by Statcast’s OAA-based measure, with the exception of his tiny handful of innings there in his debut season. So if the offense isn’t coming and the glove isn’t lifting the overall package, the only real argument for keeping him in the same role is the hope that he finally figures it out.
A couple of weeks ago, that looked possible. After the last week, the optimism has taken a serious hit.
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If Kirby Smart is willing to take them back, Georgia could potentially bring in veteran help from players who were once expected to move on for good. The issue now is less about whether there is a place for that kind of experience and more about whether the program wants to reopen the door at all, especially with roster spots at a premium and Smart often preferring to keep the focus on the current group. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Recruiting Has New Momentum But One QB Concern Still Lingers
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The bigger question, of course, remains at quarterback, where five-star Jayden Wade recently reaffirmed his commitment despite other programs continuing to press. Georgia has already seen how quickly things can shift at that spot, and the situation around Jared Curtis underscored how competitive the recruiting and retention battle can be for elite passers. For now, the Bulldogs have a commitment to lean on, but the chase around the position is clearly not over. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia High School Football Transfers Shake Championship Race With 10 Moves
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In a state where a single roster addition can tilt the balance among the top teams, these transfers give the contenders a different kind of edge heading into fall. The ripple effect stretches beyond just one school, too, because each move seems to force a response somewhere else in the bracket, setting up a championship chase that already feels more crowded and less predictable. [Read more 🡒]