ATLANTA — As Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider shared adjoining lockers within Truist Park’s home clubhouse this year, they fed off each other’s youthful excitement and established themselves as two of the most impressive rookies baseball has seen in years.
When this past season ended, it was presumed these two Braves would finish first and second in balloting for the Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year Award. The only question was who would win. The answer was revealed on Monday night, when Harris was announced as the recipient of this year’s honor.
Harris is the ninth Braves player to be named NL Rookie of the Year and the first since Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2018. This was an honor the 21-year-old center fielder certainly didn’t anticipate when he began this season with Double-A Mississippi.
Harris received 22 of the 30 first-place votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and Strider received the remaining eight. This is the first time teammates have finished first and second in Rookie of the Year balloting since former Braves Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman in 2011.
Despite not making his MLB debut until May 28, Harris led all NL rookies with a 5.3 bWAR. The Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan, who finished third in the voting, ranked second with a 4.1 bWAR.
Going back to 2010, the only position players who have won the Rookie of the Year in either league with a bWAR higher than 5.3 were Mike Trout (’12), José Abreu (’14), Aaron Judge (’17) and Pete Alonso (’19).
Harris experienced just one full professional season before making the smooth leap from Double-A to the Majors. The 21-year-old outfielder hit .297 with 19 homers, 20 stolen bases and a .853 OPS. He finished one homer shy of becoming just the second NL player to record 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in one season.
Along with strengthening Atlanta’s lineup with his power and speed, Harris quickly showed why he could be a future Gold Glove Award winner. He missed most of the season’s first two months, but still finished fifth among all center fielders with eight defensive runs saved, and he ranked eighth among this group with eight outs above average.
Harris was five games into his career when the Braves began a 14-game winning streak that propelled them to a fifth straight NL East crown. Atlanta went 79-35 with Harris in the lineup. That equates to a 112-win pace over 162 games.