Braves Michael Harris II Thriving Since Move To New Spot In Lineup

The move to the bottom half of the order has been a perfect fit for the Atlanta Braves center fielder

Harris is flourishing since the Braves moved him to the bottom half of the lineup | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Ahead of the series against the Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker made the move to slide center fielder Michael Harris II down in the lineup. Something wasn't quite clicking in his time as the lead-off batter, so Snitker started penciling him in in the sixth and seventh spots.

Since then, Harris has been one of the toughest outs in the Braves starting nine and a headache on the basepaths. In his last 10 games, Harris is batting .350 with four extra-base hits, nine RBIs and four stolen bases. He's had at least one hit in eight of those games. The Braves won those eight games and lost the two he went hitless. He's only struck out twice in his last 42 plate appearances - a rate of 4.7%.

To give an idea of how good his recent pace is, he's averaged 1.4 hits per game. This pace over the remainder of the season would give him a total of 213 on the year. The 200-hit plateau is reached only by a handful of players in a give season if that.

The most recent Braves player to conquer this milestone was Ronald Acuña Jr. during his MVP-winning season in 2023. He finished with 217 hits. Before that, Ender Inciarte racked up 201 hits in 2017.

Along with how much he's spraying the ball around the field, he's averaging 0.9 RBIs per game and 0.4 stolen bases per game during this stretch. This puts him on track for 135 RBIs and 59 stolen bases. He's getting on base, driving in his teammates and then moving himself over.

Of course, this is a tough pace to keep up over the remaining 134 games. He's certainly a ballplayer who is capable of it. However, at the very least, it gives an idea of how well he's performing as of late.

Harris recently adjusted his approach at the plate too. He's working more counts and, like the rest of the Braves lineup, trying to do his best to keep it simple. It's working in his favor. That is a factor that can explain the recent success along with where he is in the lineup. Sometimes players just hit better in certain spots in the lineup. During his career, he has succeeded more at the bottom of the order.

As much as you want to have hitters move up in the lineup as they get better, this is a blessing in clear daylight. The Braves have quality hitters across the lineup. There is no easy part of the order when this is the case. Harris crushing it where he is benefits the team and himself.

If he eventually starts hitting at a high level at the lead-off spot, that's icing on the cake. For now, there's no reason to fix somthing that isn't broken.