Austin Riley begins his favorite month with a bang despite Angels loss

The rest of the Braves’ season might be focused on the individual silver linings because this group as a whole is one big disappointment.

Last night, there were a couple, beginning with Grant Holmes, who put up six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, and has become one of the few gems of this depressing campaign.

Offensively, the notable performances were few and far between, but Austin Riley began his favorite month with a bang, despite the shutout loss to the Angels, going three-for-four at the plate with a double.

The Braves’ third baseman hasn’t been horrible, like Michael Harris and Ozzie Albies, but Riley has certainly underperformed expectations. From 2021-23, Riley finished in the top 7 of the MVP vote while supporting an OPS+ that was anywhere from 30-40% above league average.

Fans and the Braves organization had become accustomed to a perennial MVP at the hot corner, and he’s been just slightly above average. Riley owns an OPS+ 10% north of the league norm; that’s not good enough for the highest-paid player in franchise history.

Fortunately, there’s still time for Riley (and the Braves) to turn things around, and it’s usually around this time of the year when he does it. We say all the time that when the summer months heat up, so does Austin Riley. And for good reason.

The hottest months in Georgia are July and August, with average temperatures of 88 and 87 degrees, which just so happen to coincide with Austin Riley’s most productive months.

Across his entire career, Riley owns an impressive .867 OPS in the month of August, and in the hottest month of the year, Austin Riley is practically Barry Bonds. For his career in the month of July, Riley owns a .955 OPS.

The trade deadline is still a few weeks away, but it’s become increasingly concerning that the gap between the Braves and a playoff berth is widening to a point of untenability. Austin Riley going nuclear in July could go a long way in saving the season.