Michael Harris II
Okay, this one might be cheating a little. Michael Harris already burst onto the scene with a Rookie of the Year Award in 2022 and followed that up with a solid 2023 campaign. Plus, he's buried in a stacked Atlanta Braves lineup beneath the likes of Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, and Matt Olson.
At 22 years old, Harris is the youngest hitter in the Braves nine and has spent most of his career thus far at the bottom of the order, but has superstar written all over him. Making a name for yourself must be hard when Acuña Jr. is your teammate.
Originally a third-round pick in 2019, the Braves were sold on Harris' abilities early and signed him to an eight-year, $72 million contract extension during his 2022 rookie campaign. He hit .297 that season, with an .853 OPS, 19 home runs, 64 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in just 441 plate appearances.
Despite getting off to an infamously poor start in his sophomore season, batting .174 through the end of May, the talented center fielder went off for the remainder of the year. He hit .326 over the final four months of the season, posting an .887 OPS with 16 home runs, 49 RBI, and 15 swiped bags in 416 plate appearances.
Over 27 career games against the Phillies, Philadelphia pitchers have held Harris to a .248 batting average but he has still put up a .779 OPS with six home runs, 16 RBI, and five steals.
Just to stick one more feather in his cap, Harris can also handle the glove in center, with 10 DRS, 13 OAA, and 12 RAA in his two seasons in the bigs. And you may recall, he was pivotal in the shocking double play to end Game 2 of last season's NLDS.
Michael Harris 🐐 doubles off Bryce Harper to seal the game
— 704 Dawg (@FSFRecruits) October 10, 2023
pic.twitter.com/zxFcO9an9m
Harris looks like he's going to be a thorn in the side of the Phillies for years to come.