Braves’ Austin Riley sure seems like he’s officially back after demolition of Yankees
A lot of attention down at Atlanta Braves spring training is currently on some of the new faces as well as the progress of both Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. in their rehabs. However, another really interesting storyline in camp is what Austin Riley looks like going into the season.
Coming off a strong 2023 season where he made the All-Star team and ended up posting a strong .861 OPS, big things were expected from Riley last season. Unfortunately, a minor injury hampered Riley early on and he only managed a less exciting .783 OPS before his season ended prematurely after breaking his hand last August.
Given his long layoff, many expected Riley to need some time to get up to speed and that tracked with the early portions of spring training as he didn’t do all that much. However, that changed on Sunday as Riley (and others) looked like they were in mid-season form against the Yankees.
Austin Riley, rest of Braves offense brought the thunder against the Yankees
Okay, this WAS just an early March spring training game against Marcus Stroman who the Yankees have been begging everyone to trade for this offseason. However, Stroman is a real pitcher and not some minor league castoff and Riley took him deep in the first inning and roped a double off of him in the fourth. If Riley’s timing is already in a good spot and he is hitting the ball hard, he could be a lot of fun to watch in 2025.
There were other strong performances including yet another extra-base hit out of Jurickson Profar and Matt OIson’s second bomb of the season that came right after Riley’s shot. Reynaldo Lopez wasn’t efficient, but he got the job done and Spencer Schwellenbach made quick work of New York in his three innings of work.
It may just be a spring training game, but it is always better news to see the everyday guys getting results vs. looking rusty. There is still a few weeks to go, but it seems like Riley and co. are in a really good spot in camp.
Spring training is in full swing and fans are getting more excited about the coming 2025 Atlanta Braves season. Fan-favorite players make their anticipated returns and the push for another NL East title begins.
However, anything can happen between now and then. Atlanta fans know to always expect the unexpected. It should be an exciting season. While we wait for the regular season, let’s check out some of the latest Braves news below.
Recap of first weekend of Braves spring training action
The Braves completed their first full spring training weekend, and seeing baseball back was wonderful. Chris Sale and Ian Anderson got their first spring starts, which went about as expected for each pitcher.
Sale looked good in his two innings of work with 21 pitches and an average fastball velocity of around 94 mph. He had three lineouts and three groundouts. Atlanta’s ace stated he felt great after the outing and is “saving his bullets” for the regular season.
Bryce Elder appeared after Sale and pitched two scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts. Other notable pitching performances from that game include Angel Perdomo who threw a scoreless inning and Dylan Dodd who gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and a hit batter in the 6th inning,
Ian Anderson completed 1.2 innings with one run, one hit, and three walks. He struggled with command and worked on his slider most of the outing. Fastball velocity sat at around 92-93 mph. Anderson has a lot of convincing left to do if he’s going to land in the rotation.
