RADIO
Austin Riley Powers Braves to Game 1 Victory with Late Home Run
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley was the hero of his team's 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series, hitting a go-ahead three-run home run off of Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning. It was Riley's lone hit in three plate appearances on Tuesday, but it obviously came at a key time for Atlanta. The 29-year-old battled through a frustrating year at the plate in 2026, hitting .219/.290/.364 with 19 home runs, 72 RBI, 64 runs scored, and nine stolen bases across 630 plate appearances. Riley's 31.9% strikeout rate was his worst since his rookie season in 2019. However, the righty slugger still maintained a solid 12.4% barrel rate during the regular season. If he can unlock some of his power in October, Riley could be an impact bat for the Braves in the postseason.
Source: ESPN.com
Source: ESPN.com
Austin Riley Has Been a Disappointment for Fantasy Managers in 2026
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley has had a disappointing year in 2026, hitting .223/.294/.371 with 19 home runs, 72 RBI, 64 runs scored, and nine stolen bases. The 29-year-old has struck out in 31.6% of his plate appearances, his highest rate since his rookie year in 2019. While Riley's 12.4% barrel rate and 44.2% hard-hit rate remain above-average, they are a notch below the marks he posted on his way to three consecutive 30-homer, 90-RBI seasons from 2021 through 2023. Riley has been a bit better in the second half of the season, hitting .248 with 10 home runs across 233 plate appearances since the All-Star break. However, he's struggled to a .229 batting average with a 31.6% strikeout rate in September. Entering the final weekend of the 2026 season, Riley remains a middling third base option for fantasy managers.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Mauricio Dubon Could Lose Playing Time Soon
Atlanta Braves infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubon has been a key utility man for the Braves in 2026 in his first season with the team, hitting .266/.318/.417 with a .735 OPS in 94 games across his 386 plate appearances. Although Dubon has never really been known for his power at the plate, he's already tied his career high of 10 home runs in his eighth year in the majors, and he's also added a career-high 53 RBI, 44 runs scored, and three steals. The 32-year-old veteran is hitting .262 (16-for-61) with a .728 OPS, two homers, three doubles, 10 RBI, nine runs scored, and a stolen base in 15 games and 67 plate appearances in the month of July. For fantasy purposes, Dubon is most appealing in deeper formats for his lack of strikeouts (14.5% strikeout rate), although he also doesn't walk much either (6.5% walk rate). Dubon is also appealing in fantasy for his eligibility at second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield. He's currently rostered in just a hair under half of Yahoo leagues, but that number may begin to fall if he loses out on regular playing time once Ronald Acuna Jr. (hamstring) returns from the injured list in the near future.
Source: MLB.com
Source: MLB.com
Austin Riley Could be Breaking Out of his Funk After Two-Homer Game
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley has been a big disappointment so far in 2026, but he has shown a bit more power so far in July, and he went 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs, four RBI, and a strikeout in Sunday's 8-5 win over the visiting Texas Rangers. The 29-year-old right-handed slugger is still hitting just .217/.296/.361 with a .657 OPS, 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 43 runs scored, and six stolen bases in his 355 at-bats on the season after the big performance, which shows you just how much he has struggled in his eighth year in the big leagues. The big game on Sunday was Riley's second multi-homer game of the year and the 10th of his career. He has now homered three times in his last three games, and Riley is batting .273 (15-for-55) with four home runs, a double, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 15 games and 62 plate appearances in July. It's been nice to see Riley pick things up a bit so far this month, but we'd caution fantasy managers looking to buy low on him since he's sitting with an expected batting average of .209 and an xwOBA of .298 (wOBA of .293).
Source: MLB.com
Source: MLB.com
Austin Riley a Buy-Low Name, But Only at the Right Price?
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley is still the type of name worth checking on in trades, but this is not an automatic buy-low spot. The 29-year-old has been a major letdown with a .209 average, nine home runs, 41 RBI, five steals, and a .623 OPS over 330 at-bats. There is enough track record here to make a rebound possible, and his 10.3% barrel rate and 90.4 mph average exit velocity are not dead numbers. They are just not close to the impact profile fantasy managers are used to seeing from him. That makes the price everything. Riley's .204 xBA, .368 xSLG, 42.4% hard-hit rate, and 29.1% strikeout rate do not scream second-half league-winner, and Atlanta recently had him batting seventh. He is still rostered in 83% of Yahoo leagues, so this is a trade play only. Buy if the discount is real. Otherwise, let someone else chase the name.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
Mauricio Dubon Becoming Waiver Target With Multi-Position Eligibility
Atlanta Braves infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubon has never had much power or speed in his seven-plus years in the big leagues with four different teams as a utility player, but he has recently become more attractive off the waiver wire in fantasy baseball leagues as a short-term boost during his hot streak with the Braves. Dubon has hit .267/.316/.421 with a .738 OPS in 78 games across 314 plate appearances with Atlanta so far this year, and he's only three home runs away from setting a new career high in that category. The 31-year-old veteran from Honduras has been excellent in 22 games (89 plate appearances) in June, going 26-for-84 (.310) with five long balls, five doubles, 14 RBI, 12 runs scored, and two stolen bases. Dubon is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak in which he's gone 11-for-29 (.379) with a homer, four doubles, an RBI, five runs, and a stolen base. He sits in just the 11th percentile in hard-hit rate and 25th percentile in barrel rate, but he rarely strikes out (85th percentile in K rate) and should continue to play regularly with Ronald Acuna Jr. (hamstring) on the injured list. Most importantly, Dubon is eligible at second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield, and he's rostered in only 39% of Yahoo leagues. Ride the wave in deeper fantasy leagues.
Source: Baseball Reference
Source: Baseball Reference
Austin Riley Finding His Stride at the Plate
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley got off to a relatively slow start at the plate this season, but he has turned the corner lately with improved contact and power production. Riley has put together a four-game hitting streak, during which he is 6-for-16 with one home run, one double, three RBI, one walk, and four strikeouts. He has improved his season-long slash line to .220/.290/.377 with six homers, an 8.0 walk rate, a 26.7% strikeout rate, and 88 wRC+. Those walk and strikeout rates are essentially on par with his previous single-season marks, so now we'd just like to see him produce more base hits and find a little power. His 2026 ISO has fallen to a career-low .157, which is nearly 100 points lower than his career-best .255 mark in 2022. Given his recent success at the plate, Riley could be an intriguing buy-low candidate in fantasy baseball trades going forward.
Source: RotoBaller
Source: RotoBaller
