Second Year MLBbro Blues: Sophomore Year Hasn’t Been Kind To Money Mike Harris & King Vaughn Grissom

Second Year MLBbro Blues: Sophomore Year Hasn’t Been Kind To Money Mike Harris & King Vaughn Grissom

As we reach the quarter mark of the 2023 season, everything looks great in Atlanta. 

 

The Braves are once again sitting atop the NL East with a comfortable five game lead. They’re the only team in their division with a positive run differential, as their +52 diff only trails Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers (+54) for best in the National League.

 

Unfortunately for our MLBbros Michael Harris II and Vaughn Grissom, the young guns haven’t figured much into Atlanta’s success this season, albeit for two different reasons. Lets take a quick look at the issues faced by these two baby bro bombers this season. 

 

Injury Bug Bites Harris

 

Michael Harris came into this season having already secured the 2022 National League Rookie of the Year as well as an eight-year, $72 million contract extension that assured him a place in Atlanta’s core going forward. 

 

Built vs Bought | The Makings of a Championship Contender, With Trent Grisham vs. Michael Harris II A Budding MLBbro Rivalry

 

But only seven games into the season, Money Mike would suffer his first setback, being placed on the 10-day IL due to a lower back strain. Harris eventually returned to the lineup after a brief rehab stint at the end of April, but one wrong move down in Miami hobbled the centerfielder once again. 

 

Harris hyperextended his right knee while trying to beat out a base hit, a moment that surely terrified Braves fans across the country. Harris himself admitted he thought the injury would be major. “I was thinking I was gonna have to be carried off the field at first, and that was going to be the end of my season,” said Harris.

 

Fortunately for Harris and the Braves there was no structural damage to the knee, and he will avoid another trip to the IL. Money Mike gave fans a flash of the excitement he was known for last season with his walk-off double last week against Cedric Mullins and the Baltimore Orioles, but he will need time to regain his 2022 form.

 

Grissom’s Defensive Setback

 

With the departure of former franchise cornerstone Dansby Swanson this offseason in free agency, there were many around the Braves organization who were looking for Grissom to take over as the starting shortstop. Despite his electric debut last season at the plate, Vaughn has struggled to adjust to playing shortstop every day at the big league level.

 

The Braves took the cautious approach by starting Grissom with their Triple A affiliate Gwinnett in order to allow him to refine himself defensively. But when he did return, his glove continued to struggle. Grissom committed six errors in 18 starts at shortstop and looked lost at times on defense. This is a complete 180 from the defensive wizardry of Swanson, who committed just eight errors in 161 games last year.

 

 

His regression has scared some fans, but this is a time to remember that Grissom is just 22 years old, and last season he was called up out of necessity, not because Braves brass felt that he was ready to take over as the everyday shortstop. Utility man Orlando Arcia has served as a stopgap for the time being, and the team has remained one of the best in baseball. 

 

Before Grissom can truly be considered the shortstop of the future in Atlanta, he has to shore things up defensively. He’s shown that he is more than capable of performing at the plate, and ironing out the kinks at shortstop could see him join the very core that Michael Harris has already been added to.

Where Does MLBbro Vaughn Grissom’s Future Lie With the Atlanta Braves?

Where Does MLBbro Vaughn Grissom’s Future Lie With the Atlanta Braves?

The Atlanta Braves is the epitome of a baseball team with “Rich people problems”. As of this week, they have dominated teams out of the gate to the tune of having the largest division lead in Major League Baseball — seven games up on the rest of the National League East.

After starting the season 5-4, the Braves have won 20 of their last 28 to sit next to the Tampa Rays as the hottest team in baseball.

However, that doesn’t mean that Atlanta doesn’t have questions that need to be answered sooner than later.

One of the major storylines in spring training was who was going to replace Dansby Swanson at shortstop when he moved on to Chicago to play with the Cubs.

Some believed that our MLBbro Vaughn Grissom would be the odds on favorite to take the position, particularly with Orlando Arcia sidelined with a broken wrist.

But with Arcia returning to the shortstop position from injury without a rehab assignment, the Braves promoted Braden Shewmake and sent Grissom to the minors.

Now that we know what happens with Vaughn Grissom at this moment, what about his future? But before answering those questions, let’s take a look back to how far Vaughn has come.

A Baby MLBbro with grown MLBbro potential:

While Michael Harris II took most of the youth spotlight by winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award, Vaughn Grissom emerged from the shadows shocking the world of baseball by making major contributions to a playoff contending team.

His jump from Double-A to the parent club continued the Atlanta Braves tradition of finding and developing young talent to carry on the winning tradition into the future.

Last year, Vaughn was one of the youngest players in all of baseball. With the shining potential of Grissom, particularly with his bat, our MLBbro was believed to become the the other half of the youngest tag team threat in the lineup with Michael Harris II.

What has Vaughn Grissom accomplished with the Braves this season?

Even though our MLBbro has hitting splits of .277/.314/.308 in a 70 plate sample size, the major problem is in the field when he plays shortstop. In 19 games, Grissom collected six errors (Some on easy grounders) that might have him moving to another position when he returns from the minors. According to Outs Above Average via Sports Illustrated…

● He was placed at the 1st percentile in Outs Above Average at -4.
● This states that Grissom was the third worst shortstop in the majors.
● Now this advanced stat is based on the player based on opportunity. The amount of opportunities accumulated affects the numbers.

But looking at the success rate which provides more clarity, it doesn’t look much better. Grissom’s 64 percent success rate makes him the second worst defender in all of baseball behind Rodolfo Castro (Pittsburgh Pirates) and tied with Kike Hernandez with the worst success rate added with -8 percent.

Braves MLBbro third base coach Ron Washington has not given up on fellow MLBbro Grissom and explains why no one else should either via The Athletic…

“I feel real good about Griss,” Washington said. “All it is, is gaining experience. He was trying to learn how to play shortstop in the big leagues. He wasn’t learning how to play shortstop in the minor leagues. And learning how to play shortstop in the big leagues is night and day from playing shortstop in the minor leagues.”

“There’s so much that goes on out there when you’re in the middle of that field that you have to be involved in. So he had a lot on his plate. But he’s gained a lot too. You might not see it right now, but he’s gained a lot from spring training to now.”

Vaughn’s offense is not nearly as glaring as his defense, however. Our MLBbro is still capable of tearing the cover off the ball and forcing it out of any MLB park.

A few tweaks to his approach at the plate will help him immensely. First, more discipline at the plate allowing himself more walks can help. Grissom is a player that will hack at pitches at a high level swinging at 55 percent of the pitches offered to him this season. That is immensely higher than the league average of 47 percent.

This concept leads to inconsistent results at the plate for Grissom and the offensive output for the Braves. Despite the lack of discipline at times this season, Grissom is still hitting the ball harder this season than the last. In short, the time in the minors will help our MLBbro sharpen his approach at the plate along with his fielding.

Bottom line as of now…when Grissom is in rhythm, he’s really good, when he loses his moxy, it can get ugly at times.

Where does MLBbro, Vaughn Grissom go from here?:

Nowhere. He just needs to continue to work. Has this been the ideal start for Vaughn Grissom? No. But the baseball season is the Boston Marathon of sports so he has plenty of time to get things situated, particularly with an Atlanta Braves team that is tearing up the majors right now. Our MLBbro has a future in baseball. If the Braves give up on him (Most likely NOT!), there are plenty of other teams that will take on this outstanding prospect.

Why?

1. Remember this is a player with enough raw talent to leapfrog the Triple A level to play 22 games last year and make some waves in the lineup.
2. The man is still a young baseball prospect. He won’t turn 23 until next year in January.
3. When Grissom was called up, he didn’t go to the shortstop position. Atlanta put him at second base.
4. His first game against the Charlotte Bats, our MLBbro debuted with three hits (including a double) with a run scored.
5. He’s still putting up monster numbers for the Gwinnett Stripers. In a recent game against Nashville, Grissom went 2-4 with an RBI.

Look for Grissom’s trip to the minors as a fine tuning as opposed to a demotion. It’s a lot to ask any player to progress at the rate the Atlanta Braves were asking from this young player at this point of his career.

But best believe that Vaughn Grissom won’t be in a Gwinnett uniform long or be going back soon thanks to some advice he received from Ron Washington…

 

Built vs Bought | The Makings of a Championship Contender, With Trent Grisham vs. Michael Harris II A Budding MLBbro Rivalry

Built vs Bought | The Makings of a Championship Contender, With Trent Grisham vs. Michael Harris II A Budding MLBbro Rivalry

Over the weekend, Trent Grisham and the San Diego Padres came to Atlanta to take on Michael Harris II and the red-hot Atlanta Braves. Harris and the Braves took Game 1 of the series before dropping three straight to the powerhouse from Southern California, in what many fans consider an early NLCS preview. 

 

The two teams played some exciting baseball, combining for 39 runs over three really competitive games before Sunday night’s 10-2 bruising by the Padres on national TV. 

 

 

Casual fans may have been enamored with the quality of baseball being played (and rightfully so), but anyone who is a fan of roster construction and the philosophy a franchise uses to build said roster, saw two different ideologies on display. 

 

Built for Success

 

For Harris II and the Braves, the focus has been on retaining in-house talent in order to maintain a core of players that will compete for a World Series every season for the foreseeable future. The Braves talent pipeline has been legendary in the baseball world, and this latest crop of talent has already lived up to the hype.

 

 

The 2022 National League Rookie of the Year leads a new batch of talent that looks to extend a streak of five consecutive division titles into the next decade.

 

Harris, who was drafted in the third round by Atlanta in 2019, hit .297 with 19 home runs, 27 doubles, 20 steals and 64 RBI while also playing a Gold Glove caliber centerfield. Money Mike’s quick adjustment to the majors was rewarded with an eight-year, $72 million contract that cemented him as a member of Atlanta’s core going forward.

 

 

 

 

Bought For Success 

 

Grisham’s Padres on the other hand, looking to stand out in a division that boasts the big spending Los Angeles Dodgers and always relevant San Francisco Giants, have chosen to spend their way to relevancy as opposed to banking on prospects.

Their everyday lineup reads like a National League All Star lineup, with names like soon to return Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, Juan Soto and newly acquired Xander Bogaerts. Padres owner Peter Seidler recognizes that his team is now the only show in town and has made it clear to the baseball world that San Diego will be in play for any superstar they want.

 

 

 

The addition of Bogaerts on a 11-year, $280 million deal was a result of the 50-game suspension that Tatis Jr. received for a positive steroid test. When he returns from suspension Tatis Jr., who was never a great fielder to begin with, will be pushed into the outfield. A move to the outfield means the two-time Gold Glove winner Grisham will now have one bad outfielder on one side in Soto, and an inexperienced outfielder on the other in Tatis Jr., making him more valuable than ever defensively for the Padres. 

 

San Diego will be able to slug their way to victory on most nights, and we saw that this weekend against Atlanta. But if San Diego has plans of topping their NLCS appearance from last year, they must be solid defensively, meaning Grisham will need to hold down the outfield.

 

The Braves way has already proven fruitful with a World Series and multiple division crowns.

If San Diego is able to match their World Series total with just the stroke of a pen, how can you criticize either method? There once was a franchise in the Bronx that operated somewhat like Seidler and the Padres, and we all saw how that worked.

Atlanta Braves Unveil New City Connect Uniforms Honoring The Late Great MLBbro Hank Aaron

Atlanta Braves Unveil New City Connect Uniforms Honoring The Late Great MLBbro Hank Aaron

ATLANTA, GA — The Atlanta Braves unveiled their new city edition uniforms on Monday morning for the 2023 MLB season that will honor the late great Hall Of Famer Hank Aaron.  The jersey that Michael Harris Jr. and the rest of the Braves players will be wearing is a replica of the 1974 jersey that Aaron wore when he broke Babe Ruth’s record becoming the new home run king at that time with 715 home runs. 

 

 

City Connect Video Features Ludacris 

The Braves released a video of their new ‘City Connect’ jerseys that feature rapper/actor Ludacris and Aaron’s widow, Billye Aaron. 

The commercial begins with different views of Truist Park as a helicopter is shown landing in centerfield, and Ludacris and two others exit the helicopter in the new Braves uniform. The rest of the video is a security detail delivering the new jersey — to some people in a secret delivery.

The classic jersey is reimagined with “The A” emblazoned across the chest, synonymous with Atlanta’s nickname and a visual representation of the Braves’ rallying cry “For The A.

 

 

Long-time MLB Authentic Collection partners New Era & Stance have worked in collaboration with the Clubs, MLB and Nike to develop the official on-field City Connect hats and socks in order to complete the players uniform designs. 

“Over the course of its first two seasons, the Nike MLB City Connect Series has been the most successful consumer product initiative we’ve ever had,” said MLB Chief Revenue Officer Noah Garden. “The overwhelmingly positive response from our fans is clear when you see ballparks full of these distinct designs and colors. Our Clubs have focused so much time and effort with Nike to create these exceptional uniforms for their fan bases, and it shows in every last detail. We look forward to seeing even more of our parks filled with City Connect jerseys this season.”

 

When Will Braves Wear The City Connect Jerseys? 

 

The Braves will dawn their City Connect jerseys for Saturday games in Truist Park beginning April 8th. The Braves under current Major League Baseball (MLB) rules are only allowed to have four jerseys they can highlight from six Clubs across the United States that include Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates. Nike MLB City Connect Series will be unveiled now through June.

MLBbro 2022 Rookie of the Year | “Money” Michael Harris

MLBbro 2022 Rookie of the Year | “Money” Michael Harris

Despite not making his MLB debut until May 28, Atlanta Braves center fielder Money Mike Harris led all NL rookies with a 5.3 bWAR. Harris electrified the league with his five-tool talents and brought the Black swag back to Atlanta.

 

 

Going back to 2010, the only position players who have won the Rookie of the Year in either league with a bWAR higher than 5.3 were Mike Trout (’12), José Abreu (’14), Aaron Judge (’17) and Pete Alonso (’19). The 21-year-old MLBbro hit .297 with 19 homers, 20 stolen bases and a .853 OPS.