1 Atlanta Braves Player Who Can Elevate Squad Even Further

The Atlanta Braves are already 8.5 games ahead of the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals for first place in the NL East ahead of Tuesday night's matchup with the Seattle Mariners, which is as good a start as fans could've asked for. However, they will be even better if third baseman Austin Riley plays to his potential.

The 29-year-old is hitting just .213 with a .657 OPS, five homers, and 22 RBIs over 36 games thus far. Meanwhile, he has a career .268 batting average with an .819 OPS across 857 contests.

Luckily for the Braves, plenty of other hitters have stepped up. Five of their players have an .800-plus OPS, and their pitching staff has a collective 3.25 ERA. That's more than enough production to produce one of baseball's best teams over the first month-and-a-half of the season.

However, Riley is a key piece, and Atlanta needs him to get going at some point. The Mississippi native is in the fourth season of a 10-year, $212 million contract ($21.2 million AAV), so it's banking on him to produce.

Braves Have Championship Ceiling

Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (27). © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On the bright side, the fact that Atlanta has the NL's top record at 25-11 despite its highest-paid player struggling shows the squad's upside. Riley  this year with a $21.2 million salary, while star first baseman is second at $21 million, per Spotrac.