The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-handed pitching prospect Hayden Harris from Triple-A Gwinnett. Righty Hunter Stratton was optioned and righty Wander Suero was designated for assignment in a pair of corresponding moves. Atlanta also added infielder Ha-Seong Kim, whom they claimed off waivers from the Rays, to the active roster. Jurickson Profar heads to the paternity list to clear an active roster spot for Kim.
An undrafted free agent out of Georgia Southern in 2022, Harris is a Georgia native who has gone from off the prospect radar entirely to a dominant bullpen arm in the upper minors. He posted mid-4.00 ERAs in 2023 and 2024, his first two full professional seasons, but has erupted with a 0.56 ERA in 48 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. In 48 innings, he’s fanned an outrageous 41% of his opponents against a manageable 9% walk rate.
Harris doesn’t have eye-popping velocity, averaging just 91.7 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A. He’s still posted a huge 14% swinging-strike rate in the minors this year. MLB.com ranks him 27th among Braves prospects, noting that he’s a pure relief prospect without overpowering stuff but nevertheless misses bats with his heater due to a deceptive delivery and plus carry on the pitch.
This is Harris’ first addition to the big league roster. He’ll have a full slate of options heading into the 2026 season and can be controlled for at least six full years. He’ll give Atlanta another intriguing left-handed option to pair with Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee and Dylan Dodd, all of whom have pitched to sub-4.00 ERAs this season when healthy. (Bummer is currently on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.)
Suero, 33, has spent the bulk of his career with the division-rival Nationals but began to bounce around in journeyman fashion in recent years. He gave the Nats 142 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball (3.73 SIERA) from 2018-20 but has struggled since, tossing a combined 57 MLB frames with a 7.11 ERA between the Nats, Dodgers, Astros and now Braves. He’s also had a minor league stint with the Angels along the way.
Suero has had a terrific season in Gwinnett, posting a 1.35 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate in 46 2/3 innings. That won’t be enough to keep him on the 40-man roster, however, and he’ll now head to outright waivers in the coming days. Any team that claims Suero would be able to control him for two additional seasons in arbitration, as the 15 days of big league service Atlanta has given him this season was exactly enough to push him up to four years of service time. Suero is optionable for the remainder of this season but will be out of minor league options in 2026.
Had an 0.79 ERA in AA and cut it in half when he moved to AAA. I guess he’ll cut it in half again now that he’s promoted to ATL so pencil him in for an 0.18 ERA.
They’ve been missing a dominant late inning lefty since Minter’s heyday. Lee is good, but not lights out good. Bummer is mostly garbage. Hope Harris does well.
Finally. It also should be noted he’s 26 y/o — not a young buck by MiLB standards.
normal age for most relievers.
Finally, I love seeing an undrafted guy dominate in the minors. Hopefully it transfers over to the bigs!
w name
I miss the GOAT and woodshop safety glasses already:(
The braves are trying to evaluate a lot of their internal bullpen options for next year before this season ends.
Will the Profar baby be Juiced, or will they just name it Juice?
Didn’t Profar say his banned masking agent was taken to treat infertility? Hmm…
If so, then eureka…..success.
I’m excited to see what Harris might be able to do these last few weeks. A little wild but seemed to be “effectively” wild in the minors. Let’s see how that translates. He also pitched in some multiple inning stints.
Should the Nats sign Suero again?