Young Braves Star Has Incredibly Ambitious Goals in 2024
The Atlanta Braves have several players considered to be among the very best at their position in MLB - Ronald Acuña Jr, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, and Spencer Strider among them.
But if one of Atlanta's young stars has his way, he'll enter that conversation after the 2024 season.
Centerfielder Michael Harris II has ambitious goals for the 2024 season, goals that if he hits, he'll reach the upper echelon of players at his position in all of baseball.
Talking to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Harris discussed what he's wanting to accomplish:
“I’d like to be an All-Star and finally win the Gold Glove,” Harris said. “Win the World Series. Get a Silver Slugger.”
And yes that seems like a lot. But is it, really?
Consider this: After being injured early in the 2023 season, suffering a back injury that required an injured list stint and then a knee injury that he played through, Harris had an electric back half of the season.
From June 7th, the day after a pep talk from Marcell Ozuna, through the end of the year, Harris hit .335/.360/.552 with 16 homers and 15 stolen bases in 100 games.
The outfield Silver Sluggers for 2023, if you were curious: Ronald Acuña Jr (who could very well repeat), Mookie Betts (now a shortstop in Los Angeles), and Juan Soto (now in the American League)
There's an opening there for Harris.
The Gold Glove winner in centerfield for the National League was Colorado's Brenton Doyle, who graded out as the best outfield defender in baseball last year. But he also hit only .203 last season, striking out over 150 times in his 121 games and finishing with an OPS+ of only 52. He's not a lock to stay up in the majors all season owing to that anemic offense, although exceptional defenders do frequently get longer leashes from managers.
A spot on the All-Star Team is within reach for Harris, as well - last year's starters were Acuña Jr, Betts, and Corbin Carroll, while the alternates were Lourdes Guerriel, Nick Castellanos, and Juan Soto. Subtracting two of those names in Betts and Soto, as well as continuing the late-season pace (and the voting might of Braves Country) could get Harris into the Midsummer Classic.
But the World Series championship would be the sweetest of them all.