Baseball fans know by now the supreme talent Michael Harris II is. The Atlanta Braves young star is a superb defender, and has plenty of skills in the batters' box that makes him a problem for opponents. However, one offensive skill has been severely lacking behind the speed and power throughout Harris' career.
Harris' ability to draw walks has always been a problem in his short career. Early on last season our own contributor Mitchell wrote about Harris' chase% going backwards each year at the MLB level. During his three big league seasons, Harris has never ranked better than the 11th percentile in BB%. As a result, it's no surprise Harris' walk percentage remains amongst the worst for qualified MLB starters.
Michael Harris needs to find a way to get on base more
The Atlanta Braves have an on-base problem in general, as not many guys outside of Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, and Marcell Ozuna consistently draw walks. Perhaps Tim Hyers, the Braves new hitting coach, will be able to get better team production in the on-base department.
The Braves haven't had the busiest offseason, but we do expect some additions to the lineup to help the OBP issues. However, no current players have the room for improvement that Michael Harris does. He does everything else on a baseball field really well, and developing in the OBP category could propel Harris into an MVP candidate. Simply put, a .285 career batting average to .325 OBP isn't a large enough gap to make Harris a true superstar.
Harris generally has hot and cold streaks at the plate, but when he's really locked in and driving the ball you notice more of a plan at the dish. 2025 will be a big tell as to what type of player Harris will be throughout his career. Can he take a step with his plate discipline and become a true MVP candidate? Or is he destined to be an aggressive hitter that goes through hot and cold spells every season?