Hartman joins Braves legend Andruw Jones in historic 25-HR, 50-SB club
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If you told Eric Hartman a year ago that his name would sit in a record book alongside that of Hall of Famer Andruw Jones, he probably wouldn’t have believed you. But on Saturday night, the Braves’ top prospect joined that illustrious company as he surpassed 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases this season, becoming the first Minor Leaguer to do so since Jones in 1995.
The historic moment came in the ninth inning of Double-A Columbus’s 7-3 victory over Chattanooga. As Hartman took the plate at Erlanger Park, the 25 home runs were already in hand. He sat, however, at 49 stolen bases, albeit with a baker’s dozen of games remaining. After reaching first base on a single, the Alberta native promptly swiped his 50th bag, and then his 51st, coming around to score on an Alex Lodise (ATL No. 5) base hit.
Currently ranked as MLB’s No. 42 prospect, Hartman has had one of the more meteoric prospect rises in recent memory. Drafted in the 20th round of the 2024 Draft by the Braves, he spent a chunk of his debut season on the injured list. When he was healthy, his stats didn’t jump off the page -- he hit five home runs in 83 games at Single-A with a .248 average.
But this season has been quite a different story. Hartman started 2026 with High-A Rome and almost instantly started drawing eyes. On July 1, he became the first player to hit the 20-HR/30-SB plateau at any level in the Minors or the Majors. While he hasn’t been as scorching-hot since his promotion to Double-A, he has continued to stacks up steals, including 13 this month.
Flipping the calendar back to 1995, Jones was in a similar situation. He grew up in Curaçao, which at the time, had only produced one big league player in the form of Hensley Meulens.
Jones was signed by the Braves at age 16 and made his pro debut in 1994 without much fanfare. Much like Hartman, his sophomore season changed everything. He racked up 25 home runs, 56 stolen bases and 100 RBIs for Class A Macon. The following year, he made his big league debut and the rest is quite literally history.
Those are big shoes to fill for Hartman, but in the meantime, he finds himself in good company.