Austin Riley is an All-Star.
The Braves third baseman, a snub on the initial ballot, was added to the NL All-Star team on Saturday morning following another home run on Friday night against the Nationals, bringing his season total to 26. Riley has more home runs than any player other than Aaron Judge since last year’s All-Star break.
Austin Riley rounds the bases after his two-run home run against the Nationals on Friday. APManny Machado and Nolan Arenado led the way at the position in the NL, with Machado being voted the starter. But with his home run total, along with a .282/.345/.568 slash line, Riley has more than earned his spot.
He’ll become the sixth Braves player on the team, joining William Contreras, Dansby Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud, Max Fried and Ronald Acuna, who will start in the outfield.
“I like to see him get rewarded and recognized for what he can do,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters last week. “He kind of gets overshadowed with the two really good All-Star-caliber third basemen, and this guy is one, too. Austin Riley is an All-Star-caliber third baseman.”
With Riley’s help, the Braves have been on a tear of late, with an 11-4 record in the month of July to help cut their deficit to the Mets to just two games in the NL East.
They’ll finish out the first half in Washington with afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday.
