Atlanta Braves: Why Michael Harris is the next great Braves prospect

Acuna, Swanson, Pache. What all do these players have in common? They were all the #1 ranked Atlanta Braves prospect at some point. There is a new name quickly emerging that you now need to be fully aware of to be the next name to join that long and storied list.

As you know by now because you’ve read the title and clicked on this article, that name is indeed Atlanta Braves OF prospect Michael Harris.

Harris, a Georgia native, was selected by the Braves in the Third Round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of high school. While he was a quality two-way player, similar to Austin Riley when he was drafted, the Braves drafted Harris as an outfielder due to increased upside which is now becoming increasingly evident to everyone.

Harris quickly burst onto the scene playing in Rookie-Ball with the Gulf Coast League Braves as an 18-year old in 2019. Appearing in 31 games, Harris dominated GCL pitching by hitting for a .349 AVG with 2 HRs and 16 RBIs. The “domination” was even more clear as he also posted a .917 OPS, .403 OBP, and a .514 SLG%, flashing his ability to not only get on-base, but also hit for power when needed.

Harris would get called up to A-Ball with the Rome Braves for the remainder of the 2019 minor league season where he would appear in 22 games. While he struggled to put up the same extremely impressive numbers as he did in Rookie Ball in a smaller sample size, it was evident that the still only 18-year old Harris had the potential to be something special.

Harris emerges as a potential top prospect in 2020.

Despite no minor league baseball season in 2020, Harris received an invite to the Atlanta Braves alternate training site where he was one of the youngest players. Despite being one of the youngest, Harris opened eyes as one of the best.

Harris then backed that up by opening even more eyes during Spring Training before the 2021 season began. Ranked as the Atlanta Braves #10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Harris started the 2021 minor league season in A-Ball with Rome where he is off to a hot start hitting for an over .300 average.

You could currently make the argument that maybe aside from 1-2 players, Harris has the most upside of any Atlanta Braves prospect. An above average hitter with power, an excellent and versatile defender in the outfield, and a capable base-stealer, Harris truly has it all making him one of the most exciting prospects in the Braves system.

While it may still be a few seasons before we see Harris contributing everyday in the big leagues, I do know one thing is for certain however. It is only a matter of time until Harris is rated as one of the top overall prospects in baseball.