Michael Harris II (ATL): 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

It’s the Michael Countdown

If Murphy’s Law could be represented in a baseball season, the 2024 Atlanta Braves seem pretty fitting. Their injured list is as long as a CVS receipt and is chock-full of bonafide stars. The team’s main contributors who have stayed healthy haven’t necessarily delivered on their proven track records. Despite the mountain of struggles, there’s been some good. Chris Sale is going to win the National League Cy Young award with a huge bounce-back season. Reynaldo López has broken out in his return to the starting rotation. Marcell Ozuna’s continued his slugging ways with his 39 home runs good for fifth in the sport. And, oh yeah, they’re somehow just one game out of the playoffs.

Michael Harris II came up huge in Atlanta’s crucial 5-1 victory over the Mets, finishing 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI. He started his day with a first-inning single, but really got things going by putting the Braves on the board with an RBI double in the third. Harris punctuated Atlanta’s lead an inning later, launching a Luis Severino four-seamer 422 feet for a solo blast that put his team on top 4-0.

Although he missed about two months with a strained hamstring and has been labeled an underperformer, Harris is doing just enough to hold on to his fantasy intrigue entering the 2025 campaign. After last night’s big game, he’s slashing .266/.304/.428 with 16 home runs and nine stolen bases. Given a full, healthy season, I don’t see why Harris couldn’t easily replicate his near 20/20 campaigns from 2022 and 2023 next year, but there’s always been allure that there’s more left for him to unlock. Harris has carried this “might breakout in a huge way” energy for three years now, and it’s fair to start questioning if there really is another level for him to reach or if we just need to be happy with his 20/20 production. Still just 23 years old, it’s hard to let go of that hope for more, but it makes valuing him in 2025 fantasy drafts incredibly tricky.

Let’s see how the other hitters did Tuesday:

Masyn Winn (STL): 2-5, 2B, HR, R, 4 RBI.

This year sure didn’t wind up being the bounce-back season Cardinals fans were hoping for, but Winn’s development should be seen as a ginormous positive. We knew he would more than hold his own as a fielder, but his plate skills were a huge question. Well, Winn’s answered it. His two-run bomb off of Ryan Feltner yesterday was his 15th homer. He’s slashing .266/.313/.411 and has 11 steals to boot. At just 22, there’s ample room for growth here.

Jorge Polanco (SEA): 4-4, HR, R, 2 RBI.

Polanco did all he could to keep the Mariners’ longshot AL West title hopes alive. He started his day with a game-tying homer in the second before singling three times, but it wasn’t enough as the Astros brought home both the division crown and a 4-3 win. Polanco’s Seattle career got off to a rough start with a .257 wOBA in the first half, but he’s raised it to .306 post-All-Star break. In total, he’s left the yard 16 times, but his strikeout rate has ballooned to 29.3%, nearly 10 points higher than his career average.

Cody Bellinger (CHC): 3-5, 3B, R, 4 RBI.

Fans on the North Side of Chicago have one thing on their mind: will Bellinger opt-in or out? The 2019 NL MVP has to decide between staying with the Cubs for a third season and getting paid a handsome $27.5 million or testing the free-agent waters for the second straight winter. Bellinger had a rather middling season with a .267/.326/.431 slash line, 18 homers, nine stolen bases, and a 110 wRC+. Those numbers are a little light for a player looking for a $30+ million deal, but his 136 wRC+ from 2022 isn’t far in the rearview mirror. I’m guessing he’ll stay put and hope for a stronger 2025 season before he faces yet another opt-out decision.

Heliot Ramos (SFG): 4-5, HR, 2 R, RBI.

The Diamondbacks needed to win but the Giants must not have gotten the memo. San Francisco hung an ugly number on Dbacks pitchers, notching an 11-0 victory. Ramos was the star of the show with the first four-hit game of his young career. He singled twice against Brandon Pfaadt before slugging a 106.5 mph, 426-foot slot shot against Blake Walston. It was his 22nd home run of the season, and although he’s cooled from his torrid early-season pace, he’s still posted a strong 120 wRC+. All three of his average EV, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate are 80th+ percentile.

Aaron Schunk (COL): 2-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.

This is why late-September games are so fun even when both teams are already eliminated. You get to learn about a player you’ve likely never heard of before. Schunk is a 27-year-old utility infielder who FanGraphs has ranked as Colorado’s 11th-best prospect. This is his first taste of MLB action and he’s slashing .228/.265/.342 with two long balls in 83 plate appearances. Schunk’s coming off a .808 OPS in Triple-A, but that looks rather unremarkable since he was playing in the offense-charged PCL. He may have some fantasy relevancy next year when he has a week of games in Coors Field, but his profile isn’t one to chase this week or in 2025 drafts.

Jonah Bride (MIA): 3-5, HR, R, RBI.

Bride’s first season in Miami is without a doubt the best of his career. He launched his ninth homer yesterday, winning a six-pitch battle with Bailey Ober by hammering a high four-seamer comfortably over the left-field wall. Bride has a 114 wRC+, but even more interesting is his good eye at the plate. His chase, whiff, and walk rates would all be 80th+ percentile if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for leaderboards. He’s also been great at squaring up his contact, although it hasn’t necessarily led to impressive batted ball metrics. I have to wonder if the Marlins will give Bride a look as a starter coming out of spring training next year, and if they do, he’ll be an interesting late flyer in deep formats (15+ teamers/NL-only/draft-and-hold), especially in OBP leagues.

Vaughn Grissom (BOS): 3-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, SB.

Injuries have robbed us of what was supposed to be a fun season watching Grissom finally have a full-time starting job. Instead, we’ve seen him come to the plate just 101 times and hit an ugly .172/.228/294. As hard as those numbers are to stomach, I think it’s best to call this season a wash. Grissom’s had two lengthy absences thanks to hamstring strains in both of his legs, so not only did he never really have a chance to settle in with a new team, but I’m not sure he was ever fully healthy. His .216 BABIP isn’t helping his numbers either. Keep him in mind as a middle infield sleeper late in 2025 drafts.

Josh Naylor (CLE): 2-2, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB.

It was a perfect day at the plate for Naylor. He had three hard-hit balls earning him two base knocks and a sac fly that scored a valuable insurance run in the seventh. Cleveland wound up with a 6-1 win over their cross-state rivals from Cincinnati, clinching them a first-round bye. Naylor’s been an invaluable part of the Guardians’ AL Central dominance by setting career bests nearly across the board. He’s hitting .243 with 31 home runs, 83 runs, 107 RBI, and six stolen bases.

Jake Cronenworth (SDP): 2-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI.

Cronenworth got the Padres’ biggest series of the year off to a phenomenal start last night. He blasted a two-run homer and added a run-scoring double against Landon Knack, giving San Diego a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Friars are now just two games behind the Dodgers in the NL West with two vital games remaining in their season series. Cronenworth’s .245 average, 17 home runs, 81 RBI, and 107 wRC+ are all nearly identical to his numbers from 2022. He’s settled into being a slightly-better-than-league-average bat whose biggest strength is holding down a prime position in one of baseball’s best lineups.