Atlanta has trusted its process instead of spending its way to success. Here's how the Braves' formula has created a potential dynasty.
'This fan base is going to fall in love with him': How Luis Arráez is following in Tony Gwynn's footstepsLed by homegrown stars such as Austin Riley, manager Brian Snitker and the Braves front office have created a formula they believe could result in a possible dynasty. , he was pitching. It was summer 2014, and former national cross-checker Sean Rooney was scouting the two-way prospect at the Perfect Game National Showcase.
We know what happened next. Riley is one of the cornerstones of the franchise and also the epitome of how the Braves became a perennial postseason contender with the second-best record in baseball over the past five-plus seasons.
Riley hit an opposite field homer, made a big league-caliber backhand play at shortstop, then turned in a fringe average run time on a rocket that short hopped and knocked the opposing shortstop on his back -- and all that at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. That sealed the evaluation for the Braves scouts, but arguably the most important takeaway came on the way out to the parking lot, when Bridges asked Riley's mother what he didn't know about Austin.
"I was seen more as a pitcher than a hitter and that's what really got me on the map to scouts," Harris said recently." was able to get me up there so they could see my bat."-- was left without a destination after a game was rained out, so Lionetti suggested pivoting to see a game near home where Harris was pitching. He didn't pitch well that day, but he hit well -- in front of the most important set of scouting eyes in the organization.
"We thought we were thin on right-handed relievers," Anthopoulos said."He showed the fastball, the slider was still inconsistent. He didn't make the roster but continued to work. Next spring, the breaker was elite." "But he's really good at hanging with himself and as he's matured, he's learning things, he's learning the league, he's getting the confidence. ... I think that's what's allowed him to be such a successful player."
After his 2018 debut, Acuña played only one full season -- 2019 -- until last year, though he made four All-Star Games over that span. In 2022, in particular, Acuña struggled as he continued to rehab a leg injury from the 2021 postseason. As Anthopoulos put it when talking about Acuna's massive drop in strikeouts during his MVP 2023 season, from 24% in 2022 to 11% in 2023:"I never saw that coming. ... We've all been amazed. I want to pick his brain. I've never seen that type of change from one year to the next."In Riley's third season in the big leagues -- his breakout campaign of 2021 -- he won a World Series.
Instead of making a big splash in free agency, the Braves added Chris Sale to their rotation in an offseason trade. Even outside of the core, the Braves front office looks for other ways to lock in players long term. This winter, after a disappointing postseason exit at the hand of the division rival"Sale is someone we've targeted for a while," Anthopoulos said.
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