Another rough debut for another rookie Athletic
Today we shift back to the position player side of things as we continue our Season In Review series. Up next is yet another player that made his major league debut this past season, filling in at the hot corner and providing some fun moments during his rookie year. Come on down, Brett Harris.
How was he acquired?
The Athletics drafted Harris out of Gonzaga in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB Draft. That draft class is looking like a solid one for the organization as the team also selected Mason Miller, Zack Gelof, and Grant Holman, along with prospects Max Muncy and Denzel Clarke with the picks before Harris. While he was one of Gonzaga’s better hitters, Harris lacked power for a third baseman even then, hence why he dropped that far. The club clearly liked his defense at the hot corner as well as his plate discipline and was hoping he would grow into some power down the line, though as a 23-year old that might have been wishful thinking.
What were the expectations?
Harris has been slowly but steadily climbing the minor league ladder, advancing at least one level each year since being drafted. He made it to the final stop of the minors at the end of 2023, getting a quick cup of coffee of upper minors competition. He impressed in 36 games for the Aviators, slashing .279/.383/.419 with four long balls and four stolen bases. At this point he was beginning to look like a possible light-hitting, defensively-gifted option at the hot corner for the A’s, though he needed a bit more seasoning at Triple-A before getting the call to the highest level. It wasn’t out of the question that Harris could make his debut for the club during their aggressive rebuild.
2024 Results
As expected, Harris started the season in Triple-A as the everyday third baseman for the Aviators, ranking as Oakland’s 17th ranked prospect. Over the month of April the 26-year old slashed .304/.427/.494 with 3 home runs and 20 RBI’s in the hitter-friendly PCL. Not eye-popping numbers but the major league club was desperate for a spark at the hot corner after an injury to JD Davis and a lackluster start from first baseman Ryan Noda. The club elected to demote Noda while activating Davis, thus opening up third base. On May 3rd, Harris got the call to the majors for the first time and was in the lineup that night.
The rookie made some serious noise in his second career game. After going 0-for-3 in his debut, Harris returned to the lineup and hit not one but two home runs, helping the Athletics to a 20-4 drubbing of the Miami Marlins. That was the highlight of his season and earned him some more playing time for the short term but things went south from there. The rookie went just 3-for-35 over the rest of the month with just one long ball before a demotion back to Triple-A. He just didn’t look ready for major league pitching yet.
The rookie spent a month down in Vegas (with a short injured stint) and looked much more comfortable. On July 1st the club brought him back to the major league team and again gave him consistent playing time, spending the entirety of the month with the A’s. Unfortunately he again looked overmatched, slashing just .167/.265/.217 with no home runs. Once the calendar turned the club sent Harris back to Triple-A, where he would ultimately finish the season, slumping in August before finishing from for the Aviators in September. When all was said and done Harris’ major league slash line was a disappointing .146/.276/.262 with three home runs, though with an encouraging 25/17 KK/BB ratio.
2025 Outlook
The 26-year old Harris will almost surely start the season in Triple-A with the recent signing of veteran third baseman Gio Urshela. That said, there’s not much depth behind the newest Athletic. Should Urshela get injured the club may have a problem on their hands, hence why they brought in Urshela to begin with. The players likely ahead of Harris on the depth chart as of today are Darell Hernaiz and Max Schuemann, not exactly world stoppers in their own rights and not natural third basemen. Harris remains on the 40-man roster and could be an option again at the hot corner at some point in 2025, especially if he can keep up his plate discipline while adding some power to his game. The club is indeed in a rebuild and wants to give the younger guys a chance but he’ll need to prove it in Triple-A once again before he gets another chance in the majors with the A’s trying to show improvement.