Braves' Michael Harris II named as rebound candidate, but that optimism is unwise

After a disappointing 2025 season the Atlanta Braves have no shortage of bounce back candidates. Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy, and so many more are hoping to rebound in 2026. Recently, Jeremy Hefner, the Braves pitching coach, spoke on Spencer Strider's candidacy for a rebound 2026. Coaches aren't the only one making these predictions right now, as one Braves insider listed Michael Harris II as their pick for a rebound campaign.

Mark Bowman of mlb.com named MH2 as Atlanta's bounce back candidate in a recent article, and his reason for doing so focused on Harris' slow start in 2025. While everyone is rooting for Michael Harris to finally put it all together, Bowman's optimism feels a touch misguided here. Of course Harris can prove us wrong, but after going through his worrisome trends it becomes easy to see why Michael Harris II isn't someone the Braves should expect a huge leap from in 2026.

Why Braves fans expecting a huge leap from Michael Harris II is a mistake

The nightmarish 2025 season reset expectations surrounding Atlanta's entire roster. Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Chris Sale, and Drake Baldwin were pretty much the only consistent players last season. And most 2026 projections for the Braves reflect those question marks with the rest of the roster. Michael Harris II might just be at the center of those low floor/high ceiling assesments.

Harris' defense should carry him to at least a 2.0 fWAR season every year. However, his declining bat has resulted in yearly WAR decrease since his 2022 NL Rookie of the Year campaign. The problems with Harris' bat are well documented by now. He was the worst qualified hitter in baseball during the first half of 2025, thanks to his inability to lay-off pitches outside the strike zone.

HIs OBP has decreased in every season since his debut, and he has yet to carry a walk rate about 5%. We now have nearly 2,000 at-bats worth of data on Harris, and expecting any change in his plate discipline feels like a serious misstep in faith. Harris simply is who he is at this point, a player enticing enough to flash All-Star potential, but undiscipline enough to remain consistent for a full season.

The good news is Atlanta does not need MVP candidate Michael Harris II to be successful. Alex Anthopoulos has done a great job filling out the rest of this lineup, and so long as injuries don't haunt this team once again, Harris can slot nicely toward the bottom of the lineup. It's understandable to dream on a better version of Michael Harris when you see his talent on the diamond. Unfortunately, it is beginning to feel a lot like "fool me once shame on me..." situation. That is why we would look elsewhere on the roster when picking Atlanta's most likely 2026 bounce-back candidate.