Austin

Riley

Riley is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, so even in a best-case scenario, he’d only be back for the final few games of the season. The Braves have signed Gio Urshela to take over for him at third base.

This news is obviously related to the Austin Riley injury, as Riley is going to miss 6-8 weeks while leaving a (massive) hole at third base for Atlanta. Gurriel has played 92 games in the majors at third, and he’s hit well for Gwinnett thus far. Atlanta is also expected to sign Gio Urshela, but if Gurriel can handle the hot corner, there’s much more offensive upside in his bat; even at age 40.

What a brutal turn of events for the Braves and fantasy managers. The Braves have already lost Ronald Acuna Jr. for the season and Ozzie Albies for the remainder of the regular season, and now it appears that Austin Riley will join them after being hit on the hand by a pitch in the first inning of Sunday’s game. The 27-year-old could be back in time for the playoffs if the Braves make it in, which is far less likely than it looked earlier in the season. For now, the team seems likely to turn to Luke Williams at third base, and Riley can be safely dropped in all redraft leagues.

It may not necessarily mean anything dire, but it doesn’t sound encouraging that the Braves are going to have to run additional tests on Riley’s injured hand. It’s possible that he sustained some structural damage when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning of Sunday’s game against the Angels. Fantasy managers would be wise to pick up an additional third baseman to play in his stead next week if Riley is forced to miss some time.

The 27-year-old slugger was sent for X-rays to see if there are any fractures, the results of which are not yet known. Stay tuned, as the Braves should hopefully have more information on his status after the game concludes. All fantasy managers can do for the time being is wait and hope for the best.

Riley put five balls in play today at 103, 91, 92, 111 and 99 mph, with the last of those being a 400-foot flyout. He’s gone 18-for-51 with four homers and 13 RBI in his last 12 games.

Riley’s blast came in the third with two runners on off Frankie Montas, but even with it Atlanta still trailed 8-3. The 27-year-old backstop has now homered 17 times on the year, and this long ball along with a single saw his slash rise to .266/.332/.474 with 53 RBI. Fantasy managers can’t get back Riley’s slow start, but he sure has compensated for it as of late.

Riley punished the baseball in this one with a 113.5 MPH double and 110.0 MPH homer. He’s scalding hot at the moment with seven home runs and a .920 OPS over his last 30 games, but this current iteration of the Braves’ lineup is so top heavy as they’ve been ravaged by injuries.

Riley was the only batter to reach scoring position for the Braves against Edward Cabrera in what was a forgettable game and series for Atlanta. Still, Riley’s OPS keeps creeping closer and closer to that magical .800 as his cold April and May are ancient history.

The home run was Riley’s 15th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Max Meyer in the first inning. Riley has six home runs in his last 25 games since the end of June. He’s hitting .258 with a .777 OPS and 46 RBI on the season.