Monte Harrison

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Monte Fitzgerald Harrison

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Monte Harrison was a 2nd round choice by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2014 amateur draft, out of a high school in Missouri. He was an outstanding athlete at Lee's Summit West High School, playing baseball, basketball and football. He was offered scholarship to the University of Nebraska to play wide receiver.

He started off strong with the AZL Brewers that year, hitting .261/.402/.339, his OBP being bolstered by 31 walks and 12 HBPs in 51 games. However, he found the going a lot rougher as a sophomore. Splitting his season between the Helena Brewers and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, he hit just .205/.310/.332. Things weren't bad in the Pioneer League, where he hit .299 but he was overmatched in the much tougher Midwest League, where his average was just .148.

He continued to struggle in 2016, as he hit .221 in 75 games for Wisconsin, with an OBP below .300. He was injured for part of the season and was back in the Arizona League for 5 games on a rehabilitation assignment. He then began to turn things around in 2017. Returning to Wisconsin for a third year, he hit .265 in 63 games and earned a promotion to the Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League, where he continue to do well, hitting .278 in 59 games. His combined hitting line in 122 games was .272/.350/.481, with 28 doubles and 21 homers. At 21 he was finally showing the types of results the Brewers had been expecting since making him a high draft choice.

However, his future would not be in the Brewers' organization. On January 25, 2018, he was traded to the Miami Marlins along with fellow prospects Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto in return for OF Christian Yelich. In his first season in the Marlins organization, he played 136 games for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the Southern League, hitting .240 with 20 doubles and 19 homers, scoring 85 runs and driving in 48. In 2019, he was named to the roster of the National League team for the 2019 Futures Game, joining Isan Diaz, who had also been part of the Christian Yelich trade. However, a wrist injury forced him to miss the game. The injury limited him to just 58 games, all but two of these in AAA with the New Orleans Baby Cakes, and he hit .270/.357/.441 with 9 homers and 24 RBIs. After the season, he played for the Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican League, hitting .300 in 16 games.

He did not make the Marlins' opening day roster in 2020, but was one of the numerous players called up from the team's alternate training site after an outbreak of COVID-19 made the majority of players on the team's original 30-man roster unavailable when the team was cleared to play its next game, following a long period of inactivity. He thus made his major league debut on August 4th, starting in center field against the Baltimore Orioles. he went 0 for 3, striking out all three times, in his team's 4-0 win.

Harrison announced in May 2024 his intention to walk-on to the football team at the University of Arkansas as a wide receiver. [1]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jake Mintz: "Get to know new Marlins prospect Monte Harrison, who may be the best athlete in baseball", "Cut4", mlb.com, January 26, 2018. [2]

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