Braves prospect Austin Riley made his major league debut on Wednesday, starting in left field and batting sixth against the Cardinals. The 22-year-old struck out in his first at-bat in the second inning, but bounced back by crushing his first major league home run leading off the fourth inning against Michael Wacha, boosting the Braves’ lead to 2-0.
Statcast measured the blast at 438 feet and 109 MPH off the bat.
MLB Pipeline rated Riley the No. 4 prospect in the Braves’ system. With Triple-A Gwinnett, Riley hit .299/.377/.681 with 15 home runs and 39 RBI in 162 plate appearances.