No single person can be blamed for the Braves offensive woes. Outside of Marcell Ozuna, pretty much everybody has either gone down with a season-ending injury or underperformed. However, the remaining talented players who are still healthy with fewer than 20 games remaining have to start giving a little more for the Braves to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2017.
The guy I’m looking at most is Michael Harris II. Defensively, he hasn’t missed a beat since returning from a significant hamstring injury that cost him two months. Offensively, however, it’s been a mess. He’s hitting just .218 and getting on base at a .245 clip over his last 25 games, not the kind of numbers this Braves can overcome out of the leadoff spot.
Of course, Michael Harris II isn’t your typical leadoff hitter. He’s merely been forced into the role due to a plethora of injuries, but injuries can only be used as an excuse for so long. The Braves pitching staff has been holding teams under three runs damn near every night. The offense doesn’t have to be what it was a year ago, when it broke a multitude of records, or even half of that. All they need is just a few guys to step up over the final few weeks, and this pitching staff is going to carry them to where they want to go.
Michael Harris II doesn’t have to hit .300 or record a 1.000 OPS, even though he’s proven to be fully capable of doing so. Over the final 95 games of last season, he hit .333 with 15 homers and a .906 OPS. The Braves just need something out of him, and a few other guys down the stretch, and they just might sneak into the postseason. Once they get there, who the hell knows what might happen.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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