Brett Harris

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Oakland Athletics #17 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Harris has flown under the radar despite being a favorite of scouts and coaches alike, dating back to his time at Gonzaga. The A’s drafted him in the seventh round of the 2021 draft and signed him for just $120,000. He has been productive since turning pro and hit .279/.383/.424 with nine homers in 105 games across Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas in 2023 before heading off to the Arizona Fall League.
  
  Scouting Report: Harris is a smart, polished player with strong bat-to-ball skills to all fields, but just average power potential. He has some of the best contact ability in the A’s system, whiffing on pitches in the strike zone just 11% of the time in 2023. He has a good understanding of the strike zone, but his approach was strained for the first time against Triple-A pitching. In particular, Harris was challenged with velocity at the top of the strike zone. He adjusted by moving to a more upright posture near the end of the season. Harris is fairly athletic and posted slightly above-average exit velocities, so there’s some optimism he can develop more power, but he also hit the ball on the ground more in 2023. As a professional, Harris has predominantly played third base, where he’s a sound defender with savvy instincts, and has also dabbled at second base.
  
  The Future: A quintessential example of an all-around player without a true carrying tool, Harris has a better chance of reaching his ceiling as a low-end regular at third base if his power takes another step.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 45 | Field: 55 | Arm: 50
• 
  Ranked Oakland Athletics #20 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Oakland's player development group believes the club found a steal in Harris, who was a steady all-around performer at Gonzaga that they drafted in the seventh round in 2021 and signed to a $120,000 bonus. He continued to perform well between High-A Lansing and Double-A Midland in 2022, hitting .290/.375/.475 with 17 homers in his age-24 season.
  
  Scouting Report: While Harris doesn't have an obvious carrying tool, he also doesn't have a glaring weakness. He greets pitchers with a wide, slightly open stance and his simple righthanded swing makes plenty of contact. Harris is a selective hitter who makes good swing decisions and rarely whiffs on pitches in the zone. He wasn't much of a home run hitter in college, although amateur scouts noted Harris had some raw power potential, and he showed more thump in his first year as a professional despite middling exit velocities. A ceiling of 15 homers a year in the majors is not out of the question. Harris is a solid defender at third base with good instincts and an accurate throwing arm. Those skills translate to second base as well, where the A's deployed him more frequently in 2022. He also stole 11 bases, but he's a fringe-average runner.
  
  The Future: Harris endears himself to coaches because of his well-rounded skills and instincts. His power may be stretched thin in an everyday role at third base, but he has the ceiling of a superutility-type.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 50. Speed: 45. Fielding: 55. Arm: 50.
• 
  Ranked Oakland Athletics #30 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Harris’s season in 2021 at Gonzaga made him a favorite of Northwest area scouts. He hit .350 for the Zags, leading them to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and was named the West Coast Conference’s defensive player of the year at third base. The A’s drafted him in the seventh round and signed him for a below-slot $120,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Harris will turn 24 in June, but he’s the type of player Oakland’s player development program tends to maximize. He’s a plus defender at third base with impressive hands and instincts, and has the versatility to handle either shortstop or second base in a pinch. Harris showed quality pitch recognition in college and the A’s were enthused by his all-fields approach and low-maintenance swing that give average hitting potential. Harris’ power potential remains in question. He posted a .148 isolated power in a limited debut at High-ALansing, but amateur scouts predicted below-average power out of the draft.
  
  The Future: Harris’ glove and hitting ability make him an intriguing potential utility infielder. He’ll make his full-season debut back at Lansing in 2022.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #485 prospect in 2020 draft
  A 6-foot-3, 198-pound third baseman, Harris started his collegiate career at Houston, where he redshirted the 2017 season before transferring to Central Arizona JC, where he started tapping into his offensive potential. Harris joined Gonzaga in 2019, and he’s been a .299/.371/.422 hitter in 60 games in parts of two seasons. He has solid raw power but hasn’t yet translated that juice into games consistently. Coaches praised his ability to drive the ball last fall and thought a breakout season might be coming this spring, but Harris managed just one homer in his 16-game stint. He’s shown solid defensive ability at third base with a strong arm and some feel to make plays on the run, but Harris’ future at the next level will depend on his bat, and how much impact he can create with it.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Oakland's player development group believes the club found a steal in Harris, who was a steady all-around performer at Gonzaga that they drafted in the seventh round in 2021 and signed to a $120,000 bonus. He continued to perform well between High-A Lansing and Double-A Midland in 2022, hitting .290/.375/.475 with 17 homers in his age-24 season.
  
  Scouting Report: While Harris doesn't have an obvious carrying tool, he also doesn't have a glaring weakness. He greets pitchers with a wide, slightly open stance and his simple righthanded swing makes plenty of contact. Harris is a selective hitter who makes good swing decisions and rarely whiffs on pitches in the zone. He wasn't much of a home run hitter in college, although amateur scouts noted Harris had some raw power potential, and he showed more thump in his first year as a professional despite middling exit velocities. A ceiling of 15 homers a year in the majors is not out of the question. Harris is a solid defender at third base with good instincts and an accurate throwing arm. Those skills translate to second base as well, where the A's deployed him more frequently in 2022. He also stole 11 bases, but he's a fringe-average runner.
  
  The Future: Harris endears himself to coaches because of his well-rounded skills and instincts. His power may be stretched thin in an everyday role at third base, but he has the ceiling of a superutility-type.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 50. Speed: 45. Fielding: 55. Arm: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Oakland's player development group believes the club found a steal in Harris, who was a steady all-around performer at Gonzaga that they drafted in the seventh round in 2021 and signed to a $120,000 bonus. He continued to perform well between High-A Lansing and Double-A Midland in 2022, hitting .290/.375/.475 with 17 homers in his age-24 season.
  
  Scouting Report: While Harris doesn't have an obvious carrying tool, he also doesn't have a glaring weakness. He greets pitchers with a wide, slightly open stance and his simple righthanded swing makes plenty of contact. Harris is a selective hitter who makes good swing decisions and rarely whiffs on pitches in the zone. He wasn't much of a home run hitter in college, although amateur scouts noted Harris had some raw power potential, and he showed more thump in his first year as a professional despite middling exit velocities. A ceiling of 15 homers a year in the majors is not out of the question. Harris is a solid defender at third base with good instincts and an accurate throwing arm. Those skills translate to second base as well, where the A's deployed him more frequently in 2022. He also stole 11 bases, but he's a fringe-average runner.
  
  The Future: Harris endears himself to coaches because of his well-rounded skills and instincts. His power may be stretched thin in an everyday role at third base, but he has the ceiling of a superutility-type.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 50. Speed: 45. Fielding: 55. Arm: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Harris&#39s season in 2021 at Gonzaga made him a favorite of Northwest area scouts. He hit .350 for the Zags, leading them to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and was named the West Coast Conference&#39s defensive player of the year at third base. The A&#39s drafted him in the seventh round and signed him for a below-slot $120,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Harris will turn 24 in June, but he&#39s the type of player Oakland&#39s player development program tends to maximize. He&#39s a plus defender at third base with impressive hands and instincts, and has the versatility to handle either shortstop or second base in a pinch. Harris showed quality pitch recognition in college and the A&#39s were enthused by his all-fields approach and low-maintenance swing that give average hitting potential. Harris&#39 power potential remains in question. He posted a .148 isolated power in a limited debut at High-ALansing, but amateur scouts predicted below-average power out of the draft.
  
  The Future: Harris&#39 glove and hitting ability make him an intriguing potential utility infielder. He&#39ll make his full-season debut back at Lansing in 2022.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Harris’s season in 2021 at Gonzaga made him a favorite of Northwest area scouts. He hit .350 for the Zags, leading them to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and was named the West Coast Conference’s defensive player of the year at third base. The A’s drafted him in the seventh round and signed him for a below-slot $120,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Harris will turn 24 in June, but he’s the type of player Oakland’s player development program tends to maximize. He’s a plus defender at third base with impressive hands and instincts, and has the versatility to handle either shortstop or second base in a pinch. Harris showed quality pitch recognition in college and the A’s were enthused by his all-fields approach and low-maintenance swing that give average hitting potential. Harris’ power potential remains in question. He posted a .148 isolated power in a limited debut at High-ALansing, but amateur scouts predicted below-average power out of the draft.
  
  The Future: Harris’ glove and hitting ability make him an intriguing potential utility infielder. He’ll make his full-season debut back at Lansing in 2022.