Atlanta Braves Prospects: Michael Harris II Scouting Report

Michael Harris II — Swing and Approach

I really love the stance and swing from Harris. He starts a little open with his hands back and has a moderate leg kick, but he manages to keep his head and shoulders still while working his hands to the baseball.

A lot will be said about how he needs to generate more power, and that can be done as he learns to use his hips a little more.

Even on this home run, there is very little rotation in the hips.

But just about every time I watch him he’s constantly squaring up baseballs.

And for such a young player, he already carries himself like a professional at the plate with a very disciplined approach.

Very rarely did I see him take a bad swing in the games I went back and watch, and the only time I ever saw him swing at the first pitch was when he had a runner on third with less than two outs.

Otherwise, he was very patient and worked the count until he got a pitch he could hit. And even when he fell behind in the count, he seemed very calm at the plate and put the ball in play.

He had an 18% strikeout rate at Rome in 2021, but I think in the six or seven games I watched he maybe struck out twice.

We’ll see if that continues as he gets to the upper levels.