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.
Middle-middle to Michael?!?! C’mon now, you know better than that.@MoneyyyMikeee sends one to another area code to tie this one up!
— Rome Braves (@TheRomeBraves) August 25, 2021
⬆️8️⃣ Rome 4 | Bowling Green 4 pic.twitter.com/q9aguhm8br
But just about every time I watch him he’s constantly squaring up baseballs.
ICYMI: @MoneyyyMikeee drives in two runs with a sixth-inning single. The R-Braves dropped the first game of tonight’s doubleheader by the slimmest of margins but will look for a win in the night cap, starting soon! pic.twitter.com/iz7CZspN0x
— Rome Braves (@TheRomeBraves) September 1, 2021
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.