Sadly, Austin Riley‘s offseason routine began prematurely, but the 2023 Silver Slugger had another great season hunting windows in Atlanta.
Riley won his second Silver Slugger award and has cemented himself among the best – if not THE BEST – third basemen in all of baseball. Young Thicc, as he is often referred to, hit .281 with 37 HRs and 97 RBI in 2023. He had an .861 OPS and 5.9 fWAR in a stellar season. Riley’s approach of hunting windows has clearly reaped he and the Braves a harvest of rewards.
And yet, 2023 often felt like it could have been so much more for Riley. Teammate Matt Olson won his first Silver Slugger Award, hitting behind Austin most of the year. Olson set a franchise-record with 54 HRs and 139 RBI, in part because Riley struggled in RISP situations. According to his Baseball Savant page, in 200 plate appearances, the young slugger hit just .199 with an OPS of .743.
After signing the biggest contract in club history last August, Riley tapered off down the stretch in 2022. But 2023 saw the former first-round pick take hold of the hot-corner defensively. When you add his prowess at the plate, Riley is one of the players AA is building the team around. Finishing Top 10 in hits, runs scored, and HRs in a season that could have been more speaks to his talent.
MVP hunting
Riley should have the MVP squarely in his sights next season as he keeps hunting windows. I look for 2024 to be his best season yet. All he has to do is be marginally productive with the bases loaded (.214 OPS) and men on 2nd/3rd (.402 OPS.) If he does that, he will run away with an MVP award. This season, nearly half of his HRs (18) came with the bases empty. A little better batted ball luck and some timely hits will cement him as the best in baseball.
I cannot wait for Spring Training and the ’24 season!
Good review, and I’m excited for Riley’s 2024. I’m not sure, however, that it’s a knock on his 2023 to say that nearly half his HR came with the bases empty, because more than half of his PA came with the bases empty. With the bases empty he hit 18 HR in 377 PA, or one every 21 PA, while with men on he hit 19 HR in 338 PA, or about one every 18 PA.
P.S. I suppose there’s a slight bias because if you’re batting with men on, there’s a slightly better chance you’re facing a bad, homer-prone, pitcher (because he let previous batters reach base), but it seems like it would be a pretty minor effect.
Riley really put in some work at 3B this year, as he finished at 0 Outs Above Average. That doesn’t sound very impressive, but it’s the best mark of his career, and much better than the -6 OAA he posted in 2022. The main difference was that he was much better this year at moving laterally toward 3B to make plays down the line.
Riley’s defense isn’t elite, but it was good enough this year that it didn’t negatively affect his overall value. It’s great to see him improve upon this aspect of his game and become an even more well-rounded player.