This year Atlanta Braves pitchers Dylan Dodd Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver as well as outfielders Jarred Kelenic and Michael Harris II, are all 24 years old or younger and are expected to see substantial playing time.
Elder and Smith-Shawver received honorable honors for the All-Under-25 Team, and it’s difficult to argue with that. If everything goes as planned, Elder will be the fifth starter, with AJSS joining the Gwinnett shuttle crew to give innings to keep Fried, Sale, Morton, and Strider healthy in October.
Harris only qualified as a centerfielder, therefore the choice was between him and Julio Rodriguez. The Athletic’s Stephen Nesbitt reveals that the competition was quite close.
Rodríguez started sluggish but recovered to reach his second All-Star Game. He had a 30-30 season and finished fourth in AL MVP voting.He’s doggone good.
Harris, too. He started much slower, but finished the season hitting.He hit 293 with 18 home runs and 20 steals, and reduced his strikeout rate from 24.3 percent to 18.7 percent.The Bat X predicts a 30-30 season with 5.3 WAR for Rodríguez and 20-20 with 3.7 WAR for Harris.
I recognize that this is simply a projection, but I believe it drastically understates Harris’ 2024 performance.
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