Runaway MLBbro Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II has been the mirror image of the Atlanta Braves the last few months. If not for the record breaking accomplishments of fellow MLBbro Aaron Judge in the American League for the Yankees, the miraculous Braves comeback to overcome the New York Mets for the National League East title would have dominated the newscycle in the Big Apple.
Our MLBbro Michael Harris II is on fire going into the postseason after collecting his third NL Rookie of the Month award in four months. Based on the stats for the month of September, Harris II is ready for the bright lights of the October postseason.
The odds on favorite for NL Rookie of the Year had a batting average of .324 with six home runs, 19 RBI, five doubles with four steals in the month of September spearheading a 20-8 run to overtake the Mets for the division title. His 10 multi-hit games (two games being three hit gems), a .569 slugging coupled with Gold Glove level defense on most months adds up to hardware.
https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1577021089926217728
Harris II has been so dominant among rookies this season, it’s easy to forget that he didn’t even start the season on Atlanta’s main roster. He was promoted from Double-A back on May 31st. Sure Trayce Thompson is considered a steal to the point his nickname is “Cash Considerations” but no team is getting a better value from a player that gets the prorated amount of the league minimum ($700,000) adding up to less than $500,000.
Overall, the NL Rookie of the Year race has taken on an “Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani” vibe as his teammate Spencer Strider has been named as a candidate due to his record breaking accomplishment of being the fastest rookie pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts topping Randy Johnson.
But our MLBbro probably ended the race at the beginning of September by adding to a hitting streak that started the previous month with seven games to nab the second longest streak by a Braves rookie with 15. The only rookie in franchise history that is ahead of him is Freddie Freeman who notched a 20 game hitting streak in 2011.
Overall, Michael Harris II finished the season hitting .297 with 19 home runs and 64 RBI which kept him just short of the 20/20 club (20 home runs and 20 stolen bases) which would have been a shoo-in if he got to play a full season.
Can our MLBbro win the NL Rookie of the Year award in less than a full season? Well it’s time for a MLBbro.com history lesson. MLBbro icon Willie McCovey won the award back in 1959 with the San Francisco Giants while playing only 52 games.
Soon there could be two MLBbros making history only known to black and brown players.
Recent Comments