Austin Riley silencing Braves-Kris Bryant trade rumors in style

The Atlanta Braves always had faith in third baseman Austin Riley. He’s now repaying that favor tenfold on a red-hot hitting streak.

Facing Pittsburgh Pirates pitching helps, but Riley’s excellent 2021 season started long before that. On Sunday afternoon, Riley capped his recent hot streak with two home runs, five RBIs and counting on the day.

At one point in time, the Braves were seen as a possible landing spot for Kris Bryant. While the Cubs are still shopping the MVP candidate, rumors linking him to the Braves have quelled for a reason.

Bryant can play multiple positions, so it would still make some sense for the Braves to try and acquire him if they’re still in contention. Yet, such a pressing need at third base is gone, for now.

Atlanta Braves remain confident in young third baseman Austin Riley

Per superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña, what’s most impressive about Riley’s turnaround is the amount of work he’s put in behind the scenes.

“Tremendous work,” Acuna said of Riley’s recent play, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I mean, tremendous work by him. He’s been having a great set of games. I’ve seen him all the way through the minor leagues. We played in every minor-league level together. It doesn’t surprise me one bit to see him having the success that he’s had. He’s a superstar. He’s a tremendous player. He’s a tremendous person. You ain’t seen nothing yet from him.”

While the Braves always viewed Riley as having better than replacement-level upside, I don’t think anyone, if they’re being honest, would’ve put him in the All-Star conversation at this point in the season.

Yet, here we are. Riley continues to make pundits like me shut up, and his stat line just keeps improving.