For multiple seasons now, whenever someone in the Atlanta Braves bullpen struggled, or even when they didn’t, we’d hear a familiar refrain: “When will they call up Hayden Harris? Why hasn’t Hayden Harris been
called up yet?” Well, the second one is hard to answer, but the answer to the former was apparently “late in the 2025 season.”
How acquired
Harris signed with the Braves after a tryout as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern University in 2022. He got the tryout by sending Atlanta scout, and former big league bullpen catcher, Alan Butts a message on LinkedIn while pitching with the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League.
What were the expectations?
Harris, 26, made his way up to Triple-A before the end of the 2024 season. As a pure relief prospect whose pitch arsenal and effectiveness is influenced by a unique delivery, he leapt onto the prospect scene after a decent 2023 season where he went from A-ball to Double-A. He continued his ascension in 2024, as noted in his prospect review from last season, dominating Double-A but then hitting a wall at Triple-A.
In 2025, it was about seeing if his dominance in could continue at the highest levels of the minors and if he could earn a spot in the big league bullpen. He spent the off-season working on his off-speed pitches, including re-shaping his slider into a sweeper.
Given his struggles at Triple-A in the latter portion of 2024, it was hard to see Harris as a lock for a promotion to the big leagues. But, he had squarely put himself in the camp of, “If he does figure out Triple-A, then why not?”
2025 results
It was a truly incredible year for the Georgia native as he did in fact figure out Triple-A and ended up blitzing batters in both Columbus and Gwinnett. Between his 18 games as Double-A and 25 games at Triple-A, Harris had great results, and his pitching wasn’t too shabby either: in 42 games and 52 innings, he produced a 0.52 ERA, 2.07 FIP, and 2.75 xFIP. Across both levels, he stuck out a whopping 40.3 percent of the batters he faced while keeping his walk rate just barely out of double digits.
Harris was finally summoned to Atlanta on September 2 and pitched a scoreless inning against the Chicago Cubs, with no strikeouts or walks. A couple of days later, he pitched in back-to-back games against the Seattle Mariners in Atlanta, with an 0/1 K/BB ratio in each. All totaled, he pitched in three games with Atlanta, lasting 2 2/3 innings with one run charged to him to go with his two walks and zero strikeouts. An 80/132/171 debut (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) is probably not what he wanted, but hey, three appearances, no worries.
The Braves sent him back down after those back-to-back outings, and though they recalled him with a couple of days to go in the season, he didn’t make another big league appearance.
What went right?
Not only was Harris selected to the 2025 Futures Game — where he struck out the only batter he faced — but his outstanding season led to his being named to the 2025 MLB Prospect Team as the First Team reliever. Striking out over 40 percent of the minor league hitters he faced continued a trend of high strikeout rated despite a fastball that averages just north of 91 mph.
And, hey, he finally made his big league debut. His first big league game actually game in a meaningful spot, as he pitched with a one-run deficit and set Nico Hoerner, Willi Castro, and Seiya Suzuki down in order on balls in play. Here’s his first major league out, courtesy of Michael Harris II:
What went wrong?
Harris did everything he could do to prove that his dominance of minor league batters was legitimate, building on the promise he showed in 2023 and 2024. What’s wrong with that? Nothing.
But as Atlanta was shuttling pitchers on-and-off its 40-man and 26-man roster for most of the Summer, Harris didn’t get his name called. When the big league rosters expanded on September 1, he didn’t get the call either – although he did one day later. Then, his stay lasted only a week.
Nothing is wrong with that, either. But, it is fair to wonder why the Braves waited so long to give Harris a big league shot. Given his age, there was no reason to worry about his service time clock since he’ll pitch the 2027 campaign as a 27-year-old.
On the field, other than a walk rate that is still around 10 percent, despite a reducing it over past seasons, there aren’t many quibbles for Harris’ 2025 season. As said above, sure, you’d like his debut cups of coffee to have gone a bit better, but with such limited exposure, it doesn’t matter all that much. That said, he didn’t exactly fool anyone with his delivery or otherwise, but there’s plenty of time for that to change.
2026 outlook
Harris will head into Spring Training 2026 trying to earn a job in the big league bullpen. It’s too early to know what options Atlanta will bring into the fold during the offseason, but Harris having options will help him hold on to a 40-man roster spot. That said, the Braves generally don’t commit early-season roster spots to guys with options, so he could very well be on the shuttle between Gwinnett and Cobb County throughout the 2026 season.
Despite his minor league success, Harris probably has another hill to climb to stick in with Atlanta’s bullpen, but if he does, he’ll give the Braves a different look from the left side. He’s not projected for much more than a barely-above-replacement relief option at the moment, and it’ll be up to him to change that by either succeeding in the majors when he gets a shot, or somehow getting even more dominant against minor league hitters.
