MLB: Five Prospects on the Major League Doorstep
By Gavin Lee
With the dog-days of summer quickly approaching, here are five prospects who deserve to be called up in the near future. Among them are former top picks, and some that are just finally happy to be healthy.
One of the more interesting things to watch each season is the debuts of the next wave of MLB talent. Top prospects come with so much hype these days, thanks to the information that is now at a fan’s fingertips. From draft day these players have expectations and dreams put on their shoulders, hoping they’ll be the next big star in the league.
Some players immediately make their mark, and 2015 had a great young class. In the AL, young shortstops Francsico Lindor and Carlos Correa stepped in and instantly jumped to the top of their position, ranking 1st and 3rd in fWAR respectively at short. The NL saw the delayed, but much-anticipated debut of Cubs’ 3B/OF Kris Bryant, who would go on to put up the 5th most fWAR in the league for position players. Bryant won the NL ROY unanimously, and even garnered some MVP votes.
This year, we’ve already seen some unbelievable starts. In the NL, Aledmys Diaz already has 12 multi-hit games and trails only Daniel Murphy with a .376 average. Trevor Story re-wrote the record books with his four straight games with a homerun to start his career (he hit six in total). His 11 to date put him third in the league, tied with names like Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo.
The AL has seen some big pitching prospects make the jump, as the Twins’ Jose Berrios, Tigers’ Michael Fulmer, Rays’ Blake Snell and Athletics’ Sean Manaea have all seen action this year. That quartet all ranked in Baseball America’s top 50, with Snell topping the group at 12. While they’ve pitched to mixed results early, it’s an amazing new wave to see make the jump at the same time.
There are a lot of teams that won’t be able to wait much longer to bring up some of their prized youngsters. Here are 5 names you should watch out for as potential call-ups in the near future.
Next: Number 5