MLB: Five Prospects on the Major League Doorstep
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
Age: 23 – AA/AAA: 31.1 IP, 5 BB, 35 K, 0.57 ERA, 2.00 FIP. RHP. Houston Astros. Joe Musgrove. 5. player. 135
While not as big a name as the four AL pitchers mentioned earlier, Joe Musgrove has every bit a chance to make a big impact this year. After coming over from the Blue Jays in a 2012 deal for J.A. Happ, Musgrove battled consistency and injuries while falling well behind a normal development path. That all changed last year, when the former sandwich pick broke out and threw 100 innings across three levels. He pitched to a 1.88 ERA and only walked eight batters all season.
This year he’s moving quickly again, having just made his first start at AAA. From all accounts he looked great doing it, and he looks like he’s ready for the big leagues. At 23, he’s finally caught up on the development path and is showing everyone why the Blue Jays took him with the 46th selection in 2011. His pinpoint command is something any team could use, and this year he’s striking out batters more than ever before.
The Astros, for their part have already inserted a rookie into their struggling rotation. Chris Devenski broke camp as a long reliever, and after allowing just one run in his first 13.2 innings was given Scott Feldman‘s starts. He pitched pretty well in his first three outings, but was blown up by the powerhouse Red Sox on Sunday. Though his performance is encouraging, he was never expected to be much more than a swingman or possible fifth starter.
Even with Feldman out of the rotation, the Astros are still giving starts to struggling veterans Doug Fister, Collin McHugh and Mike Fiers. They’re in a deep hole in the AL West, but with players like Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Dallas Keuchel on their squad they’re always able to go on a run. If Musgrove keeps up his domination of the minor leagues, he just might be the next call to try and provide some solid innings from the rotation. Even if he isn’t, he could easily help in a relief role, as his plus fastball and command is something any manager would want at his disposal.
Next: Number 4
43. Age: 24 – AAA: 153 PA, .266/.320/.482, 7 HR, 133 wRC+. OF. New York Yankees. Aaron Judge. 4. player
Hands up if you think the Yankee outfield is going to stay healthy and productive for the entire season. No one? Yeah, that’s what I thought. The trio of Gardner-Ellsbury-Beltran has over 100 years on this earth, and a total of 1.8 fWAR between them. While that isn’t awful after just 36 games, it also isn’t helping the Yankees do anything but what they’re doing – bringing up the rear of the AL East.
Aaron Hicks has been a disaster as the fourth outfielder, brought over to be a right-handed platoon option (though he is a switch-hitter) and inject some youth and defense into the aging outfield. His play in CF hasn’t been good, and he seems lost at the plate. While it’s no means time to give up on the former Twin, if the Yankees want to see what they have in top prospect Aaron Judge, it shouldn’t be Hicks standing in his way.
For Judge, AAA has been just another league he’s been able to dominate, swatting seven long balls already in just over 150 PA. His 70 grade power stroke has been talked about ever since being drafted 32nd overall in 2013. While he’s always had trouble with strikeouts, he’s been able to cut down on them considerably recently without losing the power.
Even if the outfield stays healthy, the 1B/DH duo of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are an even safer bet to spend more time on the DL. Rodriguez is currently on it, but looks like he’s set for a comeback soon. Even so, I wouldn’t bet on this aging core to stay on the field for the season, and even if they do the Yankees are falling further and further out of contention in the AL East.
Related Story: Sabathia and Rodriguez Set To Return From DL
They’ve already shown their willingness to call-up their top prospects, with catcher Gary Sanchez making his Yankee debut recently. Sanchez is thought by many to be the top catching prospect in the game, and though he was sent back down after just a single start he’s expected to make his way back up once the Yankees’ bullpen issues are sorted out.
If the Yankees really want to see what they have in these kids, Judge should get a shot with the big club very soon. Even if they think he’s not ready, with the injury history of the players on the field they might not have much of a choice.
Next: Number 3
If you read our list of the worst players in the MLB, you know that the White Sox have a gaping hole at shortstop. Despite having a hefty lead in the AL Central, the White Sox have a total of -0.1 fWAR from the position, with a 37-year old Jimmy Rollins being the best of the bunch. His offense has improved a bit over the last couple of weeks, but he’s still getting terrible marks on defense and the basepaths.
Insert Tim Anderson.
After being drafted 17th overall by the White Sox in 2013, Anderson has hit at every level in the minors, carrying a slash line of .299/.339/.424 through his 1370 PA. Combine that with solid marks on the defensive side, and blistering speed that allowed him to steal 49 bags and leg out 12 triples last year in AA and he’s a nice piece to add to the White Sox lineup.
Sure, there are concerns with his game. He strikes out way too much, and needs to walk more to really be able to use that speed. But with Rollins and Tyler Saladino being the only players in his way, he should be promoted sooner than later on a club working towards a division crown.
There are two schools of thought in this kind of play – one that bringing him into a playoff race would rush the player and stunt his development, the other that working with MLB coaching staffs is the best way to unlock his true potential. If the White Sox think that Anderson could handle it defensively he would be an upgrade already over the pair ahead of him.
If the White Sox continue their strong play to start the year – and they should, based on their excellent rotation – they will need to fix the problem at short eventually. While trading for a stop-gap is one solution, bringing up Anderson at some point in June looks like a much better option.
Next: Number 2
Age: 21 – AA: 151 PA, .250/.384/.355, 2 HR, 4 SB, 122 wRC+. SS. Philadelphia Philliesl. J.P. Crawford. 2. player. 6
The Phillies are a good team – somehow. Almost no one saw this hot start coming, but at the moment they’re in a wild-card spot ahead of teams like Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Los Angeles. Smart money is probably on them not continuing these winning ways, since their only decent hitters seem to be Odubel Herrera and Carlos Ruiz and their rotation is led by two very young arms in Aaron Nola and Vince Velasquez.
But they are still 22-17, and with a few smart moves could easily be in contention down the stretch. Maikel Franco, their uber-rookie from a year ago has had a slow start but is showing signs of turning it around. They also happen to have arguably the best shortstop prospect not already playing in the MLB in J.P. Crawford.
Crawford is still down at AA, but might make a quick ascent to the Majors if he keeps playing the way he has. After dominating AA last season, Crawford is currently leading the league in walks, demonstrating his polished approach at the plate. His defense is excellent, even if he does sometimes try to make plays where he shouldn’t.
Freddy Galvis is performing fine on the defensive side for the Phillies, gobbling up the grounders that Nola and Velasquez have been producing, but he is just lost at the plate and seems allergic to walking. His on-base of .265 is unacceptable from a major league player, especially one who has played all but 18 innings at the position for the Phillies this season.
Crawford will have to make the jump and prove himself at AAA first – something that is expected to happen any day now – but like Anderson he could be a big mid-summer add to a team that’s in the thick of a playoff race. The Phillies would be fools to watch Galvis start another 120 games for them, and throw away a chance to keep surprising.
Next: Number 1
Jameson Taillon. 1. player. 4. Age: 24 – AAA: 43.1 IP, 5 BB, 43 K, 2.08 ERA, 2.11 FIP. . Pittsburgh Pirates
Pirates fans have waited a long time for this. After drafting Jameson Taillon with the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 draft (right behind Bryce Harper and ahead of players like Manny Machado, Matt Harvey and Chris Sale) there has been an incredible amount of hype for the 6’5″ right-hander.
Immediately following the draft he became a top-10 prospect in all of baseball, and progressed quickly through the minors reaching AAA as a 21 year old. In 2013, Taillon pitched in the World Baseball Classic for Canada (he holds dual-citizenship) and faced off against an MLB all-star team for the USA. He held his own over 4 innings, only allowing 1 runs and striking out three – Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Braun and Shane Victorino.
Related Story: Jameson Taillon Should Be In The Pirate Rotation
Going into 2014, disaster struck for Taillon. He partially tore his UCL and after initially trying to just rest the elbow, elected Tommy John surgery meaning he’d miss all of 2014 and part of 2015. He went under the knife on April 9th, and was given a 12-18 month rehab estimate. In June of 2015, 14 months later, Taillon was throwing a simulated game when he was shut down again. This time, it was an inguinal hernia that first was given rest, but ultimately put him back on the operating table with an expected recovery time of eight weeks.
By the time he recovered, it was too late for any real game action in 2015, and suddenly two full seasons had been lost. This year, Taillon is showing that he’s still that top prospect that was taken 2nd overall and is pitching great at AAA Indianapolis. He’s walked just 5 batters across his first seven starts, and is ready to make the jump.
Pittsburgh, for all the magic Ray Searage has been able to do in the past, is having a terrible time pitching this season. Jon Niese looks like a bust, despite his 4-2 record, Jeff Locke has finally regressed back to the pitcher everyone expected, and Francisco Liriano couldn’t find the strike-zone if he walked the pitch to the plate.
With a stable of young arms sitting in AAA, Taillon might not be the only one to make the jump in the near future. Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl are both dominating the minors themselves, pitching to 2.13 and 0.91 ERAs respectively.
Next: Astros Growing Impatient With Carlos Gomez
The pitching in Pittsburgh doesn’t need to stay in the dumpster long, and Taillon should be the first call they make, as soon as next week. He’s got the pedigree, performance and health to finally make his mark and show why he was drafted so high.