Despite starting the season off in a “sophomore slump”, Michael Harris II has been acting real different lately.
Money Mike came out of the All-Star break swinging at the dish.
Running up his hit streak to 12 games, the longest current streak in baseball, Money Mike helped the Atlanta Braves complete a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend.
The Braves, sitting atop the MLB standings (67-36), have continued to stay dangerous at the plate; scoring 29 runs during their home series against the Brew Crew.
They now have a +151 run differential this season, tops in MLB.
Atlanta leads the league in home runs, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases. They’re also ranked second in batting average, third in RBI & runs scored, and fifth in hits.
Numbers suggest there are no holes in this ATL lineup. Who do you pitch to? Whomever you choose, it may be wise to pitch around Mike right now.
In the 14 games since the break, Harris has gotten comfortable and started to resemble his rookie form, batting .378/.410 OBP/.541 slugging percentage. He’s had four multi hit games, and has collected six extra base hits (five doubles, one triple) during this stretch, raising his average 20 points from .255 before the break.
MLBbro is now hitting a very solid .275 with nine homers, 28 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, with 59 games left in the 2023 season.
Money Mike Shakes Off The Slow Start
During the 2022 offseason, Braves management rewarded Harris’ electric rookie performance with an eight-year/$72 million dollar contract Harris struggled early to live up to the lofty expectations, batting a feeble .173 entering the month of the June.
Many called for him to be sent to the minors. He was dropped in the order. Mike shrugged off the naysayers and showed his resolve. He’s proving he’s no one-hit wonder.
It’s hard to believe a player of Harris’ caliber, is hitting ninth on any ball club, as he’d surely be atop the order for most teams in the league.
However, having this kind of production from him at the bottom of the order is one of the several reasons the Braves are the betting favorites to win the World Series.
Harris’ longest hit streak of his young career came last season,between August 22nd and September 9th, when he hit safely in 15 straight games. We’ll see if he can take it further this time around. Fellow MLBbro Marcus Semien’s 25 game hit streak still currently stands as the longest in baseball this season.
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