Braves Michael Harris II Has Biggest Game Yet in Spring Training

The Atlanta Braves center fielder led the team during an offensive onslaught over the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning on Wednesday

Harris led the Braves to a big offensive showing over Baltimore / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris had his long-awaited big day in Spring Training. In an offensive explosion against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, he went 2-for-4 with both hits leaving the yard. Both home runs came in the top of the fifth inning as the Braves batted around. 

He led off the inning with a solo blast to make it to make it 3-0. He followed it up later in the inning with a three-run shot that made it 10-0. His four RBIs were part of a nine-run onslaught that had the Braves up 11-0 once the frame was in the books. 

Heading into the game, Harris had just one hit in his previous 12 at-bats and was posting a .143/.182/.143 slash line during Grapefruit League play. One game saw his spring totals boost to .200/.231/.440. 

It’s only one game, but it’s a hopeful sign that his bat is starting to get going. 

Harris is coming off a subpar season by his standards as a whole, but he’s still ranked among the top center fielders in the game. Last season, Harris finished with a .264 average and a .722 OPS with 16 home runs and 48 RBIs. 

MLB Network’s The Shedder ranked the 24-year-old center fielder fourth overall. He was also named a dark horse candidate to win the MVP by MLB.com. Baseball America also labeled him as a candidate to be a first-time All-Star this season. 

A late-season spark gave a glimpse into these predictions and rankings. 

In 43 games after returning from the Injured List, Harris slashed .283/.318/.506 with 11 of those home runs and 28 RBIs. 

He picked up the pace even further in September. That month, Harris slashed .316/.344/.579 with eight home runs and 18 RBIs. To put it into greater perspective, that’s a 162-game pace of 50 home runs and 112 RBIs.

He got to see another look at that power on Wednesday. In time, we’ll see if this becomes a trend. 

As of the posting of this story, the Braves are beating the Orioles 11-2 after six innings. 

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