Michael Harris II made his case the old-fashioned way in 2026: by hitting. The Atlanta Braves outfielder finished with 26 home runs, a total topped by only five National League outfielders, and his .294 batting average led all qualified players at the position.
That was enough to leave him wondering why he wasn’t among the Silver Slugger finalists.
On Thursday, Nov. 5, Harris posted a single emoji to his Twitter/X account that seemed to say plenty: the dotted-line face, the one that signals feeling invisible.
It was a fitting reaction after he was left off a finalist list that included Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres, Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals and James Wood of the Washington Nationals.
The top three vote-getters will take home Silver Slugger Awards. MLB managers and coaches cast the ballots, and they are barred from voting for players on their own teams.
For Harris, the omission lands especially hard because this was his best offensive season in four years. The 2022 NL Rookie of the Year set career highs in home runs, runs scored with 79 and RBIs with 87.
The voting also suggests that batting average still doesn’t carry the weight it once did, even among the people doing the choosing. Managers and coaches - nearly all of them former players - appear to value other numbers more heavily now.
Carroll’s selection is the one that stands out most. He hit .239 with a .328 on-base percentage, and even with 21 stolen bases and 91 runs, he finished with fewer home runs and a lower slugging percentage than Harris in one fewer game.
Harris was never the favorite to win the award outright. Crow-Armstrong and Wood look like the clear front-runners, while the third spot remains open. Harris, though, clearly believed he had a chance - and now he’s the one on the outside looking in.
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