Harris is the 407th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Fromer Wisconsin Rapids Rafter Hayden Harris made his Major League debut on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. Harris is the 407th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Harris, who played collegiately at Georgia Southern University, played for the Rafters in 2021. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Braves in 2022 after his college career ended.
In 2021 with the Rafters, Harris appeared in 13 games and was 0-2 with a 2.37 ERA. He struck out 23 batters in 19.0 innings.
Harris started his professional career in 2022 with the Braves rookie level team in the Florida Complex League. He pitched in six games and was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and six strikeouts.
In 2023 he began the year with the Augusta GreenJackets of the Low-A Carolina League. After seven games, he was promoted to the Rome Braves of the High-A South Atlantic League. He then was promoted again, after 10 games, to the Mississippi Braves of the Double-A Southern League. For the year he played in 40 games and was 5-4 with a 4.10 ERA. He struck out 91 batters in 59.1 innings and saved two games.
Harris began the 2024 season with Mississippi and then moved up to the Gwinnett Stripers of the Triple-A International League. Between the two clubs he appeared in 41 games and was 3-4 with a 4.64 ERA. He saved three games and struck out 69 batters in 42.2 innings.
Prior to his call-up to the Braves, Harris had begun the year with the Columbus Clingstones of the Double-A Southern League. He moved to Gwinnett after 18 games and was a combined 6-0 with a 0.56 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 48.0 innings. In his Major League debut, against the Chicago Cubs, Harris entered the game in relief and pitched 1.0 innings allowing no runs on no hits.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 32nd season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in history with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, nearly 2400 NWL alums have been drafted and over 400 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TOR), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford and World Series Champion and Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale (ATL). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2023 World Series Champion, MLB All-Star, MLB Gold Glove, two-time Silver Slugger winner and two-time All-MLB first team shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). League games are viewable live on Northwoods League+ (at watch.northwoodsleague.com) and ESPN+.