Braves’ Riley Adjusts To Life In Full-Season Ball

ATLANTA—Third baseman Austin Riley has discovered the pro game is not as easy as he made it look after signing with the Braves as a supplemental first-round pick in 2015.

Selected out of a Mississippi high school, Riley wound up tying for second in the organization with 12 home runs after playing 58 total games in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast and Appalachian leagues.

He he hit .304/.389/.544 and earned the distinction of top power hitter in the system.

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Riley turned 19 five days prior to Opening Day this year, and through his first 31 games at low Class A Rome he hit .244/.292/.403 with strikeouts nearly 32 percent of the time. On the positive side, 13 of his first 29 hits went for extra bases.

As was the case early last season, Riley needed time to adjust to higher quality pitchers and understand what opponents were trying to accomplish. He said he has not experienced any added pressure from his successful debut. In fact, he feels more at ease playing the game now than he did prior to signing last June.

“I would say everything is more relaxed (with the Braves) because they’re worried about development,” Riley said.

“In travel ball, you always felt like you had to impress the scouts or the college coaches. Here, I feel like everything is based on developing you as an individual and as a player. I really like that aspect of it.”

The Braves feel it is important that Riley, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound righthanded hitter, encounter rough patches in order to learn how to work his way out of difficulty.

General manager John Coppolella and the player-development staff also realize that Riley is making the adjustment to playing every day after splitting his attention with pitching as an amateur. In fact, many teams preferred Riley on the mound.

“I liked being in control of the game while on the mound, but I’ve always loved being at the hot corner,” Riley said. “I want to play every day instead of once every five games. I also love swinging the bat. I’m just thankful that the Braves were willing to let me do that.”

WIGWAM WISPS

• Double-A Mississippi shortstop Dansby Swanson continued to rake after being promoted from high Class A Carolina. The first overall pick in the 2015 draft led the organization with a .330 average through 31 games and ranked among the system leaders with 17 RBIs and nine stolen bases.

• Mississippi lefthander Sean Newcomb issued 18 walks versus 32 strikeouts in his first 31 innings. Despite the walk rate of 5.2 per nine innings, he had recorded a 3.16 ERA.