Michael Harris ll – Braves Chop Chat

Opening Weekend Success:

Photo: Courtesy @braves

The Atlanta Braves 2024 season is officially underway, and the Braves started off on a positive note by winning 2 out of 3 games against their rivals the Philadelphia Phillies.

With a 9-3 win on Friday and a 12-4 win on Saturday, Atlanta’s offense proved that they did not lose any of their power at the plate. Ozzie Albies hit the Braves’ first home run of the season in the first inning of Saturday’s game, and other home runs soon followed. The Braves were also able to escape run deficits and secure the win. They were almost able to do this during Sunday’s game, however they came up one run short and lost 4-5.

Pitching wise, Atlanta’s starters did pretty well. Spencer Strider went 5 innings in Game One, only allowing three hits and two runs. He also had 8 strikeouts. He did not get the win, however, but the Braves bullpen showed off their arms to keep the Phillies’ bats from doing any damage. In game two, Max Fried had some struggles. He threw 43 pitches over 0.2 innings and surrendered 3 runs. There was a very questionable call from the umpire on a 2-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded that did not go the Braves’ way. If the umpire had made the correct call, Fried wouldn’t have surrendered a single run and could’ve possibly gone a couple more innings. There wasn’t anything wrong with the velocity of Fried’s pitches, his command just wasn’t there. He was hanging pitches and couldn’t command the strike zone. Hopefully, in his next start, he will come out stronger.

Chris Sale made his Braves debut on Sunday’s game. He threw 5.1 innings, had 7 strikeouts, and only allowed 2 runs. It was a bummer that the Braves bullpen could not maintain the lead to secure the win, but it was a very positive start for Sale. And it was exciting to see him pitch a good game.

Unfortunately, on Opening Day, Sean Murphy strained his left oblique with a swing late in the game. He is expected to miss a couple weeks at least. Having Murphy go down after just one game of the season is definitely not something a manager wants, but the positive outlook from it is that he will be healthy late in the season when the playoffs are right around the corner. Thankfully we have dependable d’Arnaud who is capable of catching multiple games in a row.

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As always, the Atlanta Braves are exciting to watch, and I am excited to see what the 2024 season has in store for them!

GO BRAVES!!

An Update on Where the Braves are at Going Into the Month of August:

There are 56 games left in the season, and despite being 13-10 in July, the Atlanta Braves are still leading the MLB in wins with 69, and are atop the National League East by 11.5 games. With that in mind, Atlanta is coming into August with their heads held high!

Like always, the Braves are continuing to prove just how exhilarating of a team they are. They just wrapped up their series against the Los Angelas Angels (July 31st-August 2nd) in which they won two of the three games.

Atlanta’s offense has finally started to come back again, and it is exciting to watch. The Braves have already hit a whopping 206 home runs this season, and the next closest team to the Braves in home runs is the Los Angelas Dodgers with 169- that’s a big difference! With the pace they are at right now, the Braves are on track to hit a LOT more home runs, and potentially break the single season record for home runs that was set by the Minnesota Twins in 2019. They hit a total of 307 home runs that season. The Braves only need 101 more!

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Injury wise for the Braves, there have been some updates. Max Fried has been assigned to return to the Braves rotation, and he will make his first start in almost three months in Chicago against the Cubs on Friday, August fourth. It will be good to see Fried on the mound once again, and hopefully he will pick up where he left off and continue to bring stability to the Atlanta rotation.

Kyle Wright should hopefully be returning before the month of August is over. He strained his shoulder back in May, and although he has been cleared to throw again, Atlanta’s training staff has not scheduled any rehab starts. Obviously they want to be extremely careful with Wright since he is so young and has such good potential, but hopefully he will begin a rehab assignment within the next couple of weeks.

The Braves have had a lot of pitcher-related injuries this season, and a lot of them are still a month or two away from returning. But fingers crossed that they will all be healthy and ready to go when it gets time for the postseason.

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The Atlanta Braves have some VERY talented players. They prove day in and day out just how good they are and why they deserve to be at the Major League level.

Ronald Acuña Jr. has 51 stolen bases already this season which is quite impressive. After tearing his ACL in 2021, we saw Acuña be much more cautious in the 2022 season. But now, you can tell that he is completely healthy again and having fun on those bases! It will be thrilling to watch and see how many he wracks up by the end of the season.

Matt Olson is currently leading the National League in home runs with 37. He is just two behind Shohei Ohtani (39) who leads all of MLB in home runs. Along with leading the NL in home runs, Matt Olson leads MLB in RBI’s with 91. So it is safe to say he is very productive in the Braves lineup. Olson is a very strong left-handed hitter. Yes, he pulls the ball sometimes, but we also see him hit the ball to straightaway center and to opposite field. He is such a good hitter and even though he has a tendency to strike out, I don’t feel that he gets all of the credit he deserves.

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I could sit here and talk ALL day about how good every single player in the Braves lineup is. One through nine, they all contribute each and every day and you can see how much playing for this Braves team means to them. They’re an exciting bunch to watch and I can’t wait to see what the remainder of the season has in store for them.

GO BRAVES!!

Takeaways From the Braves vs Tigers Series:

On their brief roadtrip, the Braves took two out of three games against the Detroit Tigers, winning the series. Their two wins were in a doubleheader on Wednesday June 14th, because their second game of the previous series was postponed due to rain.

Multiple things happened in this series for the Braves; some good, and some not so good.

THE POSITIVES:

Michel Harris II is finally starting to come to life offensively.

It is no secret that Michel Harris II has struggled big time to start the 2023 season. It was like his rookie magic had completely gone away. He was still showing off defensively – making superb plays in the outfield – but offensively was a serious struggle.

However, over the three games against the Tigers he had seven hits, two home runs, five RBI’s, two stolen bases, and he did not strike out a single time. Those are some impressive numbers considering the slow start that he got off to in the beginning of the season! Hopefully he will continue to hit as well as he has been hitting lately and continue to shine in the remainder of the season.

The Braves are continuing to shine offensively

Over the three game against the Tigers, the Atlanta Braves’ hitters scored a total of 21 runs and hit 6 home runs. Those are some pretty impressive numbers – especially considering they had to play a doubleheader and did not have a lot of time to rest between games.

Not only were they hitting lots of bombs, but they were hitting lots of grounders for hits and line drives for hits, and they were taking walks when they needed to.

The Atlanta Braves might not be a bunting team, but they know how to move runners over in other ways!

THE NEGATIVES:

Jesse Chavez goes on the 15 day IL

In game three of the series, Jesse Chavez came into the sixth inning to pitch. After throwing four pitches, he was hit in the shin by a 100mph comebacker. He immediately went down onto the ground and had to be helped off the field. The Braves medical staff announced this morning that he has a left shin contusion. While we are very thankful that it isn’t anything worse, Chavez will definitely be missed. He has had a good season this year and is always a consistent veteran pitcher.

Braves starting rotation isn’t as sharp as usual

Pitching is SO important for any professional ball club, and historically, the Atlanta Braves have been known to have really good pitching. The Braves started off with having good pitching, and while Bryce Elder is still pitching very well, it seems like the remainder of the starting pitchers (that aren’t hurt) aren’t as sharp as we’re used to seeing. Especially Spencer Strider.

Spencer has a 7-2 recored over 14 games, but he has a 4.12 ERA, which is high for him. Strider had a fantastic rookie season in 2022, so he had high expectations coming into this season. And it’s not that he has pitched badly – he just hasn’t been as sharp as he was last year. That is most likely because he isn’t facing batters for the first time; he’s facing people who have seen him before and have a taste of what is coming.

I am positive that Spencer Strider will figure things out though and be the great pitcher we know he can be.

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I know I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Braves are an exciting team to watch this year. I believe that if they can stay healthy and keep playing like they are, they have a chance to win it all this year!

GO BRAVES!!

An Overview of The Braves Coming Into the Month of June:

It’s safe to say that the Atlanta Braves got off to a hot start for the 2023 season. They have not moved out of first place all season long. The starting rotation, granted it has been injury-plagued, has been pretty consistent and so has the Braves offense and defense.

Towards the end of May, things started to slow down for the Braves. They lost their series with the Dodgers (May 22nd-24th), they split their series with the Phillies (May 25th-28th), and then lost their series against the Athletics (May 29th-31st). I think those games against the Athletics were almost a wakeup call for the Braves, because after they lost the first two of the series, they fought back in game three and it gave them some serious motivation going to Arizona.

The Braves took the series against the Diamondbacks (June 2nd-4th) and have been on a hot streak since!

The Braves just wrapped up a sweep of the Mets at home, and those games were a perfect example of how relentless this Atlanta Braves team is. All three games were come-from-behind wins.

In these three games against the Mets, Atlanta’s starting rotation wasn’t as sharp as usual, but the bullpen was lights out. A.J. Minter and Raisel Iglesias were especially sharp. They came into the games when it mattered the most and did not disappoint.

Offensively, the Braves were locked in. They hit 8 home runs over those three games – five of them came in game three of the series. We know that the Atlanta Braves team can rely on the home run game a lot. Yet in this series they showed that yes, they were capable of hitting home runs, but that they’re also capable of getting base hits when needed and taking walks in high-stress situations. And, in game three of the series, Ozzie Albies smoked a 3-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to send the Braves out in style!!

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It is safe to say that this Atlanta Braves team is getting better and better and they are proving that despite their injuries, they are the team to beat in the National League.

Speaking of Injuries, here is the latest on Max Fried (left forearm strain) and Kyle Wright (right shoulder strain):

Fried was moved to the 60-day IL, but this really doesn’t affect him and the Braves too much. He isn’t expected to return until the later half of July, but he has been ramping up some of his baseball actives like playing catch and doing some of the team workouts. Obviously the Braves are going to take the precautious route with Fried. Because he is their ace, they will need him healthy and ready to go when September come; not to mention they don’t want him to need Tommy John Surgery. But it will be nice to see him back on the pitcher’s mound.

Kyle Wright has had a rough season. He missed Spring Training this year with the same shoulder strain. Then after making just five Starts for the Braves, only one of those being longer than 5 innings, he was placed on the 15-day IL. The Braves later moved him to the 60-day IL because an injury like this is a very serious one – especially with it being his pitching shoulder.

It’s heartbreaking to see these two pitchers on the injured list for the Braves because they both did so well last season, but we have to remind ourselves that these things happen to the best teams. The Atlanta Braves are lucky to have had these injuries happen in early April/May instead of late August/September.

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GO BRAVES!!

Opening Day Lineup and Starting Pitcher Predictions:

Spring Training games are officially underway! It has already been an eventful Spring Training with the pitch clock, but it’s something- like it or not- that the players, coaches, and fans are going to have to get used to.

With about a month until Opening Day, it’s time to start thinking about what the Opening Day lineup lineup will look like and who the starting pitcher is going to be.

Lineup Prediction:

Ronald Acuña Jr. (RF)
Michael Harris II (CF)
Matt Olson (1B)
Austin Riley (3B)
Ozzie Albies (2B)
Travis d’Arnaud (C)
Eddie Rosario (LF)
Vaughn Grissom (SS)
Marcell Ozuna (DH)

There are a few things to note about the lineup: 1) d’Arnaud and Albies could easily swap places in the lineup. It will ultimately depend on if they’re facing a left-handed or right-handed pitcher. 2) Sean Murphy could possibly be the Opening Day catcher, however I don’t think that will be very likely. 3) Most lineups across the MLB are going to have their DH in the middle of their lineup. However, with Marcell Ozuna being our DH, I have put him last. He has not proven himself at the plate over the past couple seasons and just doesn’t seem to have it together anymore. It will be interesting to see what the Braves do with him over the course of the 2023 season.

Regardless of how it’s set up, the Atlanta Braves lineup is going to be very solid, and if everyone performs to the best of his abilities, it is going to be tough to get them out!

Starting Pitcher Prediction:

Max Fried

Fried seems like the most logical choice to be the Opening Day pitcher. He was given the job of being Opening Day pitcher last year, and I think Snitker will give it to him again this year. He is the Braves ace and has been given the nickname “Mr. Consistent,” so I believe they will go with him.

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It has been very enjoyable to have baseball back, even if it is only Spring Training. I am looking forward to Opening Day, and I can’t wait to see what is in store for the Atlanta Braves in 2023!

GO BRAVES!!

It’s Time! The NLDS Braves vs Phillies Starts Today:

Postseason baseball has officially begun! The Wild Card series’ were full of much excitement and a lot of surprises. The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Saint Louis Cardinals and are now about to face off against the reigning World Series Champions: the Atlanta Braves.

This isn’t going to be an easy series for the Braves. The Phillies have shown to be a better team than most thought they were this year, and they have good hitters and some good starting pitchers. With all this to be said, I still believe the Braves are the better team. Atlanta has had almost a week of rest, and while some people think too much rest is a bad thing and can put them off their game, I think rest was just what the Braves have needed. The series that Atlanta played with the Mets was crucial, and I am sure it was both physically and mentally exhausting for the Braves players…they gave that series their all. And giving it their all is what they’re going to have to do throughout the Postseason.

Starting pitching wise, the Braves have a solid rotation. Max Fried has been announced to start game one, and I think they’ll start Kyle Wright in game two and most likely Charlie Morton for game three. Spencer Strider could have the possibility of starting in the NLDS, but I don’t think the Braves will rush him into pitching. They will want him completely healed and without risk of injuring himself worse.

The Braves have a good bullpen. We have seen them be lights-out countless times this season. Those pitchers have A+ stuff. We have seen them pitch in high leverage situations and come out on the winning side…we especially saw this in the decisive Braves vs. Mets series. The one thing that is going to bring some concern is the closing role in the bullpen. That role belongs to Kenley Jansen. Kenley has had his ups and downs this season, but he has come through when the games have mattered the most. We can only hope to see him bring those same results as we enter the Postseason.

Offensively, we known the Braves have a LOT of power. They can hit the home run ball left and right. However, they are going to need more than home runs to carry them through the Postseason. Small ball is important in any baseball game, but it is even bigger in Postseason games. Getting on base, moving runners over, and scoring is what matters most. Yes, you can score with a home run, and they are loud and exciting, but you have to be able to score runs without a home run. You have to be able to take advantage of pitchers “slip-ups” such as walks. There are only so many runners you can leave on base without it coming back to bite you in a huge way. This will be something for the Braves to start to do more of as we begin Postseason baseball.

The Atlanta Braves have superb defense. The infield especially is quite impressive. This is something that has helped Atlanta throughout the entire season. Having a good defense behind your pitchers is something you can’t take for granted. The Braves defense always seems to come through in huge situations. We saw this in last year’s Postseason and time and time again this season.

Everything is set at a higher standard in the Postseason. It’s the best of the best battling against one another to avoid elimination and come out on top as Champions. We saw the Atlanta Braves do this last year, and they are just as capable to do it again this year. It will be an exciting Postseason run this year and the Braves won’t go down without a fight!

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One more thing to add. Ozzie Albies, who fractured his right pinky ringer in mid-September against the Phillies, just two days after returning from a foot injury, is now out of his cast. This is a huge step for Albies who has the potential of making a Postseason return. This is another aspect of that extra week of rest from clinching the Division that has played so well in the Braves favor. Ozzie Albies will have to regain some strength in his hand after being in a cast, and the Braves coaching staff will be cautious with him, not wanting to risk another injury to their young superstar. On another note regarding Albies, it was announced today that he will be traveling with the Braves for the NLDS and will participate in on-the-field activities and workouts with the team. All of these are huge steps in the right direction, and I know that the team and all of Braves country would be over the moon to see Albies come back in the Postseason!

GO BRAVES!!

Braves Have Been Playing Great Baseball, but it Has Come With Yet Another Devastating Blow:

Coming off a long road trip to the West Coast, you could tell that the Atlanta Braves were ready to be back home in front of their home crowd. Counting last night’s win against the Nationals, Atlanta has won nine home games in a row.

The Braves played some of their best baseball in this past series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Part of that was due to the LONG awaited return of second baseman and fan-favorite, Ozzie Albies. He had been out for three months with a fractured foot, and he returned to the lineup on Friday, September 16th. He was received very happily by his teammates and the fans at Truist Park gave him a standing ovation. And when he had his two out, two-run double the fans went crazy. It was great to have Ozzie back. He truly makes the team complete. He provides the energy they need to win ballgames.

However, ill fate was awaiting Ozzie. On Saturday, September 17, in just his second game back, Ozzie Albies was advancing to second base on a fly-out by Eddie Rosario. He slid into second base hands first, and after he slid he stayed hunched over the base. Then and there, all of Braves Country felt a pit form in their stomach, and after watching the replay, things didn’t look good. Ozzie stayed in that inning and ran the bases, but once he got into the dugout he immediately went into the clubhouse to get his hand checked out. Ozzie Albies will miss the rest of the regular season with a fractured right pinky finger. This news is devastating. After all that hard work he did recovering from a fractured foot, he fractured his finger less than two days after returning to send him back to the IL. I’m not entirely sure how his finger got fractured. To me, it looked like Phillies second baseman, Jean Segura might have stepped on Ozzie’s finger by accident, or Ozzie slid into his foot. Either way, it’s a heartbreaking situation. But hopefully, Ozzie will remain in the dugout and cheer on his teammates from there, although he would much rather be on the field playing the game he loves.

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Atlanta’s offense has hit a spark since they came home. 1-9 each batter was coming through in one situation or another. Even Matt Olson broke out of his hitless streak and recorded two hits last night. And Ronald Acuña Jr. looked like his old self against the Phillies. He hit a home run in back to back games and played superb defense.

Pitching for the Braves has looked much better, too. The starting rotation did well, making the pitches they need to and kept the Phillies scoreless most of the time. Even relief pitching was lights-out. Collin McHugh pitched well – even pitching two innings in the same game. And Kenley Jansen, who we have seen struggle of late, has come in as closer and been lights-out. He hasn’t gotten into any trouble and hasn’t walked anyone. Hopefully he’s figured out what his problem was and made the necessary changes.

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The Atlanta braves are a very fun team to watch. They are currently 1.0 game out of first place in the National League East, and are playing fantastic baseball. If they can keep this up, they have a real shot at beating the Mets in the Eastern division. And when the Mets come to town next week, Truist park is going to be rocking. It is going to be some serious competition and hopefully the Braves will come out on top!

GO BRAVES!!

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!!