ATLANTA BRAVES TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. MICHAEL HARRIS, OF
AGE: 21. B-T: L-L. HT: 6-0. WT: 195. DRAFTED: HS—Stockbridge, Ga., 2019 (3rd rd). SIGNED BY: Kirk Fredriksson.
TRACK RECORD: Most of the amateur scouting industry seemed to prefer Harris as a lefthanded pitcher out of high school in 2019. He touched 93 mph with his fastball and showed feel to spin a big curveball. Harris preferred hitting, though, and the Braves liked his upside enough as a position player to give him a chance with the bat and ultimately signed him for $547,500 as an outfielder in the third round. After flashing solid tools in 53 games in 2019, Harris impressed Braves officials in 2020 with quality at-bats against many of the team’s top pitching prospects at the alternate training site. In 2021 he put together a strong all-around campaign at High-A Rome in his first full season.
Scouts inside and outside the Atlanta organization view Harris as the best pure hitter in the Braves’ system. Harris shows impressive feel to hit with loose wrists, easy hands and impressive plate coverage. It is impressive enough that he sometimes gives away at-bats by being overly aggressive and chasing out over the plate, above it or on the inner half. Harris identifies pitches well, and when he focused on eliminating his inside chases during the second half, saw his on-base percentage shoot up to .400 over the final two months. There’s plenty of strength in his filled-out frame, and scouts note that he drops the bat head with force through the zone. Harris notably produced exit
