Michael Harris ll and Vaughn Grissom’s Big Impact With the Braves:

Looking back on the Atlanta Braves at the beginning of the 2022 season, things looked a little different than they do now. Two things that sticks out the most are Adam Duvall was in center field, and Ozzie Albies was at second base. Unfortunately, injury plagued the Braves. On June 12th, against the Washington Nationals, Ozzie Albies broke his foot during a freak accident running out of the batters box, and on July 24th the Braves lost Adam Duvall for the rest of the season after he tore tendons in his hand when he ran into the wall at home against the Los Angeles Angles. It’s also important to remember that the Braves were already without Eddie Rosario for almost all of the first half and some of the second half of the season due to eye surgery.

The Braves brought up Michael Harris ll from the Mississippi Braves (AA) on May 28th. He immediately made an impact with the Braves team. He is very skilled defensively and can cover a TON of ground in center field. Not to mention, there is life in his bat! He always gives Atlanta a quality at-bat, gets good hits, and crushes in the home run ball. And, he is very fast! He hasn’t been thrown out stealing a base yet…he is 13-for-13 in steals so far! He has been very exciting to watch, and I’m sure he will continue to make an impact with the Braves team throughout the rest of the season.

Vaughn Grissom was brought up from the Mississippi Braves (AA) on August 10th. He was brought up because, when the Braves were playing the Red Sox in Boston, Orlando Arcia strained his hamstring in an extra inning game on August 9th. Atlanta does not know when he will be back. However, Grissom made quite the impression for the Braves and Braves country in his debut. His first Major League hit was a two-run home run against the Red Sox and it went over the Green Monster in left field. Grissom has proven he has much power in his bat, and for a young player, he has very good AB’s at the plate and is very good defensively. He is a shortstop by trade so he has a good arm, and is putting up good defensive numbers so far at second base. Obviously he’s not Ozzie Albies, and once Ozzie is ready to return he will be back at second base every single day. But Grissom has been a good fill-in.

A fun fact about both Harris and Grissom is that they were teammates and best friends in Double-A Mississippi. It has been fun to see them both playing for the same Major League team and watch their friendship in the ballpark. They have a super cool handshake and are often caught goofing off in the dugout.

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Hopefully, these two will continue to impress the Braves and bring life to the team for the remainder of the season. The Atlanta Braves are coming down a crucial set of games and they will need their team, both offensively and defensively to be on their A-game. It will be exciting and nerve-racking to watch for sure!

GO BRAVES!!