If you’ve been watching the Braves finally start to get their feet under them over the past week, you know a big reason they’ve had success is the emergence of top prospect Michael Harris II. His five-game hit streak came to an end last night, but Harris has shown he can hit in this league, and even if he wasn’t hitting at a respectable clip, his defense in the outfield is making his presence worth any woes at the plate. The Braves have had a ton of issues with outfield defense, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Harris has the potential to win multiple Gold Gloves.
He's already made three catches with a catch probability of 50% or under, like this one: pic.twitter.com/nRFjW2uvjc
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) June 8, 2022
.. and, as @tangotiger pointed out to me, the one potentially good play he didn't make, he actually got there and overran it and just couldn't close the glove
tldr: his 61 OPS+ is bad but in less than two weeks of MLB time he already looks like an absolutely fantastic defender. pic.twitter.com/Sy7s14ZPtS
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) June 8, 2022
Even Andruw Jones was impressed by that Michael Harris snag
— SportsTalkATL Jake (@cantguardjake) June 8, 2022
With an admittedly small sample size, there are still only seven center fielders in all of baseball with more than three Outs Above Average (Cristian Pache leads all center fielders with six). Harris has been fantastic in the field, and although he hasn’t given the Braves a ton offensively, his speed and defense may mean his stay in Atlanta will be a lot longer than originally expected.
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Photo by: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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