Austin Riley joins Braves brotherhood of prospects to homer in MLB debuts

It’s hard to imagine doing something cooler in your MLB debut than a home run being your first hit. That’s exactly what Austin Riley accomplished on Wednesday night as he launched a Michael Wacha fastball 438 feet halfway up the center field seats.

Here’s video of that majestic shot in case you missed it (or just wanted to see it again):

Riley ended the night going 1-for-3 with the above home run. He struck out in his first plate appearance and flew out to deep center in his third.

Let’s take a trip down (recent) memory lane.

Before Riley, the most recent Brave to homer in his debut was Evan Gattis on April 3, 2013. Facing the late Roy Halladay (RIP), Gattis skied a ball into the clouds. It appeared to be a no-doubt shot the way Gattis flipped his bat at the plate, but it just snuck over the left-center wall. Added bonus: Evan’s dad was being interviewed live as it happened. Take a look:

Next up: the Opening Day blast heard around the world — or at least Braves Country.

Jason Heyward, oozing with hype as the game’s No. 1 prospect, stepped to the plate on April 5, 2025 with Turner Field rocking. The Braves had just answered the Cubs’ three first inning runs as Heyward stepped in to face Carlos Zambrano. The rest was history:

Heyward’s debut was the second year in a row a Brave accomplished the feat. Twelve months prior, Jordan Schafer stepped into the batter’s box on Sunday Night Baseball and crushed a fastball to dead-center.

Unfortunately, that was one of the few bright moments of Schafer’s once-promising career. Injuries (and other things) would derail what seemed to be the beginning of a long tenure with the Braves.

Prior to Schafer, Jeff Francoeur and the Baby Braves took the league by storm in 2005. And during his first game in Atlanta, he did this with dozens of friends and family looking on:

Francoeur would go on to have a fairly disappointing career in Atlanta and elsewhere, but this homer still resonates 15 years later.

The other Braves to homer in their debuts? Marty Malloy in 1998, Jermaine Dye in 1996 and Bob Horner in 1978. I was actually able to find video of Dye’s first home run after all these years.

So there you have it. A brotherhood that seems to continue expanding every few years. Who’s next? The Braves certainly have a number of strong candidates coming up the pipeline in the coming years.