Austin Riley aims to win the Gold Glove Award in 2024 after being a finalist last season. And that is a realistic goal. Do you remember when his defense was discussed? Outsiders’ conversations changed to “Is he good?” “How good is he?” “I think it just continues my learning as a defense,” Riley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Just little things. Micro-adjustments to get a little extra step here or there, an angle here or there. Just learning jumps, when to attack the ball when you need to back off. Little things helped jump.”Riley is the perfect player. He’s hitting for average — .286 over the past three seasons — but is still hitting (.525 slugging percentage during that span). But the improvement in defense is the most noticeable.
He’s very proud of it. I know because I played with him since he was 18 (High-A) in Rome, he worked for it every day. Whether it’s the bare-handed robbery he’s very good at, he plays like that. “He’s always proud of the fact that he was able to do that, especially because I think a lot of people initially labeled him as a pitcher (entering the draft) and didn’t think he was going to be at third base. His shoulder. to be able to say, ‘ I can do this and I can handle it at an elite level.” “.
