In year five, Money Mike Harris looks better than ever for Atlanta

Ever since he joined the Braves, Michael Harris II has been a puzzling player to evaluate. Despite an incredible 2022 season that earned him Rookie of the Year honors and an extension, Harris had stalled out in Atlanta since.

In his eye-opening rookie campaign, Harris slashed .297/.339/.514 with 19 home runs and 20 stolen bases, while playing elite defense in center field. That year, both his Arm Value and Range ranked in the top 10% of the MLB on Statcast.

Think about it. Harris nearly posted a 20-20 season with a .300 AVG, despite debuting in May. Calling him a breakout candidate was an understatement. 

The Braves locked him up on an eight-year, $72 million contract in August of 2022. Entering year two, Harris was expected to produce like a star.

In year two, Harris delivered another solid campaign, posting another OPS over .800. The raw power persisted, although his mark of 18 homers wasn’t where many fans expected.

Results started to falter in 2024, although his underlying data remained sturdy. By 2025, Harris fell all the way to a .677 OPS across an entire 160 games. He posted an OPB of just .268, punctuated by his league-worst 2.5% walk rate. 

Harris’s stock has steadily decreased since peaking as a 21-year-old. However, early on in 2026, the Braves centerfielder is bidding to buck that trend.

Harris’s Early Surge

Out of the gates, Michael Harris II is hitting .318 with 6 homers and a .921 OPS. Playing alongside thriving lefties Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin, the Atlanta Braves have been a right-hander’s nightmare.

On Tuesday, Harris blasted a pair of home runs down the line against the Washington Nationals, powering the Braves to the MLB’s best record. Rounding the bases a couple times certainly brought back the swag back to “Money Mike”.

Harris currently ranks top-20 in the MLB in AVG, SLG, and HR. He’s been deadly with the bat and, in all honesty, among the most enjoyable hitters to watch. No offense to players with a great eye, but Harris’s uber-aggressive approach has been an absolute blast to watch.

Cutting the Field in Half

Right now, Michael Harris II boasts the fifth-highest Expected Slugging Percentage of all qualified hitters. While his .537 SLG is impressive in its own right, his expected mark of .669 indicates that he’s been even better than his raw numbers.

Two key factors are driving his surging expected power numbers:

• An extremely high pull rate
• Top-end exit velocities

While Harris has went opposite field more as of late (and with success), his early surge has been underscored by keeping the ball up the middle and to right field.

So far, Harris is hitting an unreal 90.9% of his batted balls either up the middle or to the pull side. By getting deeper into his swing, Harris has been getting his hands extended. This is leading to higher bat speed at the point of contact, as well as finding a rhythm for Harris’s swing path.

This directional tendency is having huge effects on his quality of contact. Take a look at some of the early increases he’s seeing in his batted ball metrics:

• Hard Hit Rate: 43.4% in 2025 » 57.6% in 2026 (+14.2%)
• Average Exit Velocity: 90.2 MPH in 2025 » 94.8 MPH in 2026 (+4.6 MPH)
• Barrel Rate: 9.1% in 2025 » 18.2% in 2026 (+9.1%)

Harris’s bat speed has increased by a moderate 0.6 MPH to start the 2026 season. However, it’s clear that his emphasis on keeping the ball on the pull-side of the field is driving his power surge.

Early Highs in Plate Discipline

If you’ve watched Michael Harris II across the years, it’s no secret that he loves in hitting… in the sense that he doesn’t care for walking. As mentioned earlier, Harris’s walk rate ranked dead-last in the major leagues in 2025.

Now, frequent chase is always going to be a part of his game. Harris is chasing 39.1% of the time in 2026, which is a small step forward from his 1st-percentile clip of 43.1% in 2025. However, that aggressive approach is not something that you should tweak in his late 20s.

Instead, Harris is covering ground in the contact sector. He’s dropped his strikeout and whiff rate, currently striking out less often than 72% of qualified hitters. With Harris’s pull approach, more balls in play is propelling his stock even higher.