Michael Harris II joined elite company on Friday night when he homered off Pirates RHP Mike Burrows. The long home run into the Braves bullpen brought his season total up to 20 for the season, and also put Harris in the 20/20 club for the first time in his career. Harris was one homer shy of 20/20 his rookie season, and just two homers shy in 2023.
However, despite reaching the elusive 20/20 club for the first time in 2025, Harris' is set to put forth career lows in wRC+ (currently 83) and fWAR (currently 1.1). The main reason for this frustrating year for MH2 has been well documented...the inability to take a walk. Harris has always been a free swinger, but this season his walk rate is sitting at an abysmal 2.5% the worst mark in baseball. This terrible mark in the walks column has Harris on the verge of a historic season for all the wrong reasons.
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— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 27, 2025
Braves' Michael Harris II looking to avoid being historic for a lack of plate discipline
Having 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a single season may not seem as impressive as it once did. Especially when the Mets had a pair of teammates go 30/30, and Josh Naylor became the fourth primary first baseman to have a 20/30 season. However, Michael Harris II is set to accomplish something no one else in baseball history has ever done...20 homers, 20 steal, and less than 20 walks.
Yes, Harris still sits at just 16 walks on the season so barring four walks over the last two games of the season Harris is set to make history in a not so inspiring way. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Shohei Ohtani have created some historic clubs, but Harris' season is unprecedented for less than ideal unique statistics.
In fact, only one other player in MLB history has reached double digits in both home runs and stolen bases all while having a matching (or lower in Harris' case) number of walks. This occurred in 1995 when Cubs shortstop Shawon Dunston had 14 home runs, 10 stolen bases, and just 10 walks in 503 plate appearances.
Simply put, Harris' combination of power and speed is becoming more common in today's baseball, but his combination of power/speed and extremely low walk rate is something baseball has never seen. We have been critical of Harris for much of the season, but hopefully Harris' can ride this end of season momentum into the offseason and comeback in 2026 a much better version of himself.