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. Only Ke’Bryan Hayes (21; 2023 Gold Glove winner), Ryan McMahon (17) and Matt Chapman (12) had more defensive runs saved than Riley (9) last season. His .972 slugging percentage was a career best that season (MLB average was .963). “That’s part of his game — everybody talks about the bat, but he probably works twice as hard on defense,” Braves starter Max Fried said. “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.” “.
