Austin

Riley

It’s the first day off on the season for the 29-year-old slugger, though he may still appear as a pinch-hitter in a critical spot off the bench. Mauricio Dubon will start in his place at the hot corner and bat seventh while Jorge Mateo draws a start at shortstop and will hit ninth against Brandon Pfaadt and the Diamondbacks.

Riley took Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet deep to lead off the second inning with a mammoth blast that traveled 399 feet and left his bat at 109.6 mph. He also drove in another run with a third-inning double that capped off a three-run outburst for the Braves against Crochet in the frame. He wasn’t done yet, tacking on another two-run double in the fifth, just for good measure. The 28-year-old slugger looks like an obvious rebound candidate for fantasy purposes after being limited by injuries to fewer than 110 games in each of the past two seasons. He’s put together a fantastic spring, batting .405 (15-for-37) with five homers and one steal in 15 games.

The 28-year-old slugger did his damage in the fifth inning of this one, launching a Nick Dombkowski fastball for a 368-foot (102.1 mph EV) two-run shot that increased the Braves’ lead to 4-1. He’s having a very strong spring offensively, hitting .353 (12-for-34) with four homers, nine RBI and a stolen base in 42 plate appearances.

Riley is 8-for-20 with three homers this spring. He should be moving up draft boards a little, not necessarily because of his Grapefruit numbers but because he’s likely to move up to the cleanup spot in Atlanta’s lineup with Jurickson Profar out of the mix.

Riley’s 428-foot homer left the bat at 106 mph, and he also had a 107-mph lineout to left. Not typically a big spring performer, Riley has already matched his 2025 total of two Grapefruit League homers. His high is four from 2020.

Riley should be 100 percent after core muscle surgery at the end of August, and he might be undervalued after a second straight disappointing season. He did strike out more often than usual last year, but his exit velocity numbers were just as good as when he hit 38 homers in 2022 and 37 in 2023.

Riley is out of the season after core muscle surgery, but he’s expected to be ready to go next spring. He hit .260/.309/.428 with 16 homers in 447 plate appearances this season.

This outcome became a strong possibility earlier this week when the 28-year-old slugger visited a renowned core muscle specialist to get another opinion on the abdominal issue that has been bothering him since early July. He’ll finish the 2025 season slashing .260/.309/.428 with just 16 homers and 54 RBI in 447 plate appearances. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to go in time for spring training.

Riley is scheduled to be evaluated by Dr. William Meyers, a renowned core muscle specialist, to determine the severity of the lower abdominal issue that he’s been dealing with since early July. It’s possible he’ll wind up requiring surgery. There is no timetable for his return.

Not good. Riley experienced renewed abdominal discomfort while running the bases on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated later this week to determine his next steps. It certainly qualifies as a setback and likely pushes his potential return back into September, even in a best-case scenario.