Your chance can impact your hitting, so might as well switch it up Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Braves Michael Harris II Adjusting Stance in Effort to Correct Course

Originally posted on Atlanta Braves on SI
By Harrison Smajovits | Last updated Jul 19, 2025 8:50 AM ET

Michael Harris II is in the pursuit of turning his season around, and the evidence of the effort is noticeable just from when he steps up to bat for the Atlanta Braves.

Brady Penn from 680 The Fan posted three different photos of Harris’ stance. One was from Friday night, another from two weeks ago and a third from his rookie season in 2022.

Looks like Michael Harris II is making an effort to correct his struggles by changing his batting stance. It looks just like early in his rookie year

1st Picture: Tonight
2nd Picture: 2 Weeks ago
3rd Picture: Michael’s first career hit in 2022 pic.twitter.com/fZzNcsws1e
— Brady Penn (@bradypenn21) July 19, 2025

Compared to two weeks ago, Harris has brought his hands up by his ears compared to down by the letters on the jersey. Instead of having his elbows nearly tucked in near his torso, they’re raised and level with his shoulders.

His stance is also a bit wider, with his front leg placed a bit further back. This brings his stance closer to what he had in his rookie season, when he won the National League Rookie of the Year award. A key difference between then and now is that he’s still standing a little taller, whereas he had his knees bent a bit more in his rookie season.

To explain why this matters, this will take some mechanical discussions. Some of you probably heard them when you played baseball, too. My explanations are based on what I learned.

Look, there is no right stance in baseball. It’s why ballplayers have so many unique ones. However, some stances work better for others. Bringing Harris’ hands back up to his head, compared to down by the letters, could make it easier for him to bring his hands to the ball and do it quicker.

A wider stance can also help with balance and generating power. Bending the knees can have the same effect for some hitters.

The results, at least on Friday, were that he went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. His stance isn’t going to help him draw a walk for the first time since May 18 or make better pitch selections. Those make a world of difference, too.

To help show how all these differences in how you approach an at-bat go hand-in-hand, I went and looked at his stance via a home run compilation video from last season, when he had a late-season surge coming off an injury. His stance was closer to where it was two weeks ago. I’ll include that I watched so that you can see it for yourself.