Hayden Harris: A Hometown Hero

Hayden Harris: A Hometown Hero

When left-handed pitcher Hayden Harris took the mound at SRP Park in April, it marked a milestone moment. Born in Augusta and raised in nearby Grovetown, he made his professional debut in front of family and friends on April 11th, but it was only the beginning.

Harris wasn’t supposed to end up here. He was the first ever Division I baseball player to attend Grovetown High, where he excelled as both a batter and pitcher. He even attended GreenJackets games at the old Lake Olmstead Stadium. “I just remember running around, asking for balls, and getting a high five from the players,” he says. He did not know that one day he would be on the other side of the high five requests.

After spending a summer in Atlanta, playing for exposure to college scouts, Harris committed to Georgia Southern, a baseball powerhouse in his home state. “They were the school that offered me my first scholarship, and I wanted to respect their commitment to me,” says Harris, when asked about his college experience. He speaks to me with a smile, as he goes through his recovery process from the previous night’s outing, where he struck out each of the six batters he faced.

“Baseball’s a funny game,” says the Augustan. His previous outing, he surrendered a home run to a player he had faced back in high school – David Hollie – en route to giving up six runs in 1.2 innings of work. The night before we spoke, he took the mound with a three run lead in the eighth, and struck out six in a row to earn his first professional save.

In many ways, the ability to bounce back after a tough outing is emblematic of his story as a player. After pitching at Georgia Southern, with summer ball stints in the prestigious Northwoods League and with the Savannah Bananas, he wound up going undrafted. Still, he bounced back, joining the Frederick Keys of the MLB Draft League, striking out 17 of the 41 batters he faced.

On his drive back up to Maryland for the second half of the season, he got a call. The Braves wanted to sign him. Unsurprisingly, he accepted on the spot. He spent a month in the Florida Complex, before breaking spring training this year with the GreenJackets for his first full year of affiliated baseball.

Just days after we spoke, his story continued. The Braves moved Harris up to High-A Rome, where he’ll continue to be tested against fierce competition. While his Augusta stay only lasted a month, there are plenty of Augusta fans who will be following their hometown player as he continues to progress.

Editor's note: at the time of publication, Harris has been promoted to Double-A Mississippi, becoming the first GreenJackets player to reach that level this season. In his first 6 outings in Double-A, Harris has a record of 2-0, a 1.74 ERA, and has only surrendered five hits in his six outings.