Opposition research: Michael Harris II

The centerfielder’s career is trending in the wrong direction

It seemed unfair when Braves centerfielder Michael Harris II won the National League’s Rookie of the Year award in 2021. Just a few years after Ronald Acuna Jr broke out, it didn’t seem right that the Braves could have another young outfield star on their hands. But when Harris put up an .853 OPS to go along with strong defense, that’s what it looked like we were dealing with.

Since that great rookie season, Harris has performed a little worse at the plate each year. In the three seasons since, Harris’ OPS has gone from .808 to .722 to a troubling .570 this season. He’s still a strong defender, but even an elite defender will have trouble staying in the lineup if he can’t contribute anything with the bat.

This might be one instance where the Braves signing a young player to a long-term deal backfires on them.

Things aren’t getting better for Harris, as June has been his worst month yet. His on base percentage for the month is an abysmal .176.

You’d think that if he was struggling to hit the ball, he might try to work a few walks, but he’s somehow managed to avoid taking a free pass the entire month.

On one hand, it would probably be bad for the Phillies if he was benched since he’s been such a liability at the plate. On the other hand, he has a nasty habit of robbing Phillies players of home runs in the field. Considering how difficult runs have been to come by this week, they can’t afford to have any taken away.

X-Men character of the series

The Neo

In 2000, legendary writer Chris Claremont returned to the X-Men comics, and fans were excited at first. And then it became very clear that he had lost a few miles off the proverbial fastball. One of his big ideas was a group of villains called The Neo, a heretofore hidden group of “super mutants.” The premise was that they were to mutants what mutants were to humans.

It sounded cool, and they made a big early splash, defeating the X-Men multiple times. But despite Claremont’s insistence that they were a level beyond normal mutants, that never really showed up on the page. Readers quickly cooled to them, and in a very symbolic reset to the status quo, Magneto killed most of them and made the rest subservient to him.

Additional thought about the series

Hopefully the Phillies shipped their bats ahead to Atlanta, because they didn’t seem to have them with them in Houston. Obviously, part of that was facing a very good Astros pitching staff, but one run over three games is frighteningly weak. The series didn’t do much to calm the fears of fans worried that the offense will go cold come playoff time.

Heading to Atlanta might not cure what ails the Phillies, as they don’t often put their best foot forward in Truist Park. Earlier this season, the Phillies dropped two out of three there. The Phillies will also have to face the Spencer S’s, both of whom have been tough on Phillies in the past. (In the regular season at least.)

Maybe being swept will increase the Phillies’ level of urgency for the series, because the Braves will likely be playing with a sense of desperation. They’re still trying to climb their way out of their early hole, and after this weekend, they’ll only have one more series against the Phillies remaining. If the Braves fall 10+ games behind, there simply might not be enough time to make up the deficit.