The Atlanta Braves suffered a 9-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants last night to tie the series 1-1. Michael Harris II was one of the few bright spots in the game due to his bat. We haven’t been able to say that very often this year.

Michael Harris II’s batting average was flirting with dropping below .200 on the season. Between June 22 and July 10, Harris managed just four hits in 51 plate appearances. His average dropped as low as .205 on July 10, the lowest since the 18th game of the season, when averages have a much larger variance on a game-to-game basis.

Harris has been bad since the start of 2024. If you go to Fangraphs and sort by “Off,” an offensive score that combines batting and baserunning to show how far above league average a player is, Michael Harris II is the second-worst player since the start of last year. His -22.9 Off score is second only to former Braves outfield mate, Alex Verdugo.

Since the start of last year, Michael Harris II has been the worst (qualified) hitter in the league that currently has a job.

The Braves are rumored to be open to trading Michael Harris II this offseason, should anyone be interested. Harris has a lot to offer. He is one of the premier defensive center fielders in the game, and he has put together a large sample size of excellence with the bat in the past.

Over his first two seasons, Harris played in 252 games and put up a 162-game average of 24 homers, 26 steals, 78 RBI, and 97 runs. He slashed .295/.334/.494. He even averaged 29.6 walks per 162 games, which isn’t great but… at least he could take a walk.

Harris has walked just 34 times over the past two seasons (208 games), which drops his 162-game average down to just 17. If you charted his yearly OBP totals, you could ski down them.

Warning: This slope is not for novices.

Michael Harris II OBPs by Season

• .339
• .331
• .304
• .237

Harris still has good bat speed (73rd percentile), but he just isn’t hitting the ball hard very often. His bat speed and max exit velocities tell us he still has it in him, but he’s not getting good wood on the baseball. Harris’s hard-hit percentage ranged from the 76th to 86th percentile in his first three seasons. This year, he’s in the 37th percentile.

Harris has never been good at walking, but he is in the last percentile in the league this year. Combine his inability to take a walk with his 3rd percentile chase rate (3rd meaning REALLY BAD), and pitchers have no reason to throw him anything hittable.

The good news is that Harris has been hitting over the past eight games. Since the All-Star break, Harris is slashing .300/.323/.467. Yes, Harris has taken one walk since the break! It’s a good sign to see some hard-hit balls and extra-base hits by Harris. During this eight-game stretch, Harris has two doubles and a homer to go with three RBI and nine total hits. He has scored nine times in eight games.

Hopefully, something has clicked for the former 2022 NL Rookie of the Year.