A deep look at the 2017 MLB debuts

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After the debut of another MLB prospect in Anthony Alford over the weekend, let’s take a look at the debuts in the 2017 season.

At roughly the quarter-mark of the MLB season, there have been 69 players make their MLB debut. For comparables, in 2016, there were 257 players who made their debut, which would be roughly 64 players in 1/4 of the season. In 2015, there were 255 players, and in 2014, there were 234 debuts.

Only going back through the 2000s, 2016 was the high point in debuts with 2013 having the least at 133. The average season in that time has roughly 200 debuts, so 2017 certainly is on pace to set the mark for this millennium.

Let’s take a look at some of the guys who have made their debut this season…

Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Called up to fill an injury spot for the Dodgers roster after playing very well, Bellinger has been the highest-rated prospect, via preseason top prospect lists, to make his MLB debut in 2017.

Bellinger was profiled after he debuted on CTTP, and his role has expanded even further since his debut as Adrian Gonzalez has been injured, allowing Bellinger to stay up with the big league club when outfielders that he was initially replacing returned to the Dodger lineup.

Thus far, Bellinger is the best performing hitter to debut this season as well, hitting .300/.370/.678 entering Sunday’s action with 9 home runs. He’s not been overwhelmed with MLB pitching either, posting a 10% walk rate and 26% strikeout rate, both very respectable numbers for a power hitter.

Just 21 until July, Bellinger is likely to continue to display excellent power, even as the league adjusts to him, though the .300 average may not be something he does keep all season.

Kyle Freeland, LHP, and Antonio Senzatela, RHP, Colorado Rockies

While the Rockies have seen four rookie-eligible pitchers start a game for them this season, Freeland and Senzatela are the ones who have made their debuts this season.

Freeland was a top-10 overall selection by the Rockies, being drafted #8 overall in 2014. After some injury issues and surgery, Freeland has become a very contact-oriented lefty with excellent sinking stuff, generating plenty of ground balls. This has been a focus of the Rockies this season, and Freeland’s heavy fastball has been a driving force of his early success.

Senzatela is a bit of a different case as an international free agent signing originally by the Rockies organization out of Venezuela that has worked his way up the Rockies minor league system. While he’s never had a bad season at any level, per se, he’s never been a guy who was a top Rockies prospect. John Sickels at Minor League Ball ranked Senzatela #16 in the Rockies system coming into 2017.

Using the focus on generating weak contact and relying on defense, both pitchers have found success with the Rockies. Freeland is currently sporting a 3.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 22/29 BB/K ratio over 46 innings. Senzatela has arguably been even better, albeit with a higher ERA, with a 3.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and a 18/34 BB/K over 54 innings.

The Rockies have put together a very good defensive unit behind their young rotation, and certainly neither Freeland or Senzatela is working with weak stuff, as both can reach mid- to upper-90s with their fastball with heavy sink on the pitch along with good secondary offerings. As long as they have the defense behind them, they should be able to continue having similar levels of success.

Amir Garrett, LHP, Rookie Davis, RHP, and Sal Romano, RHP, Cincinnati Reds

By far the most MLB debuts among major league teams has been with the Cincinnati Reds, which also makes their season record hovering around .500 all the more impressive, considering that a number of rookie-eligible players are also playing but had previously debuted.

The Reds opened their 2017 season with a rotation that consisted of Scott Feldman and four pitchers with 45 total starts in the major leagues. An early season injury brought veteran Bronson Arroyo to the rotation, but the Reds have predominantly gone with a very young rotation throughout the season.

Two of those rotation members have been lefty Amir Garrett and righty Rookie Davis (yes, ironic that he is a rookie…). Garrett has the prospect pedigree as a former top draft pick that would have been an even higher draft pick had he not had intentions of playing collegiate basketball. He’s focused on baseball only the last few years and shot up the Reds system as his tremendous stuff has allowed him to dominate hitters.

Davis was part of the Reds’ return for former closer Aroldis Chapman when they traded him to the New York Yankees. While he doesn’t have the prospect pedigree of Garrett, he is a solid pitcher in his own right.

Neither pitcher has had tremendous results on the season thus far as they sit with 5.18 and 7.58 ERAs, respectively, but they are both very talented players that should improve on those numbers with more major league experience.

Romano has also been in the mix of young arms this season, making just one start, filling in from AAA for one start. The big (6’5, 280 pounds) righty was originally a 23rd round draft pick out of high school and has worked his way up the Reds system. He could be a guy that the Reds choose to use much like they’re utilizing Michael Lorenzen, Raisel Iglesias, and Austin Brice, going multiple innings in appearances.

Allen Cordoba, IF, Miguel Diaz, RHP, and Luis Torrens,
C, San Diego Padres

No one has attacked the Rule 5 draft the way the Padres did this winter, acquiring three of the top selections, all with big-time talent, though it did mean that they cost themselves those roster spots in the process.

Typically teams only want to grab one or perhaps two Rule 5 players due to the difficulty of having one roster spot frozen to that player throughout the season due to the rules of Rule 5. The Padres grabbing all three meant that they would be giving each player some playing time, not just hiding them on the bench to acquire their rights.

Cordoba was probably the most highly-regarded of the trio as a potential prospect, ranking among the top 10 prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals system before his selection, though he’d not yet played above rookie ball. Cordoba has gotten the most run and shown the best of the three, hitting .292/.352/.462 with 3 home runs. He’s played both middle infield positions along with left and center field on the season, even starting 13 of the 27 games he’s appeared in.

Torrens is a gifted catcher defensively that has struggled with injury along the way, losing the entire 2015 season to surgery. His bat was a work in progress in the minors, and that has shown at the big league level, as he’s hit .077 thus far in 28 plate appearances.

Diaz had the most typical Rule 5 profile as a power-armed reliever with a huge fastball and minimal experience in upper level minors. He has predictably struggled with his control, and he’s struggled quite a bit with his fastball straightening out in the zone, giving up an 8.24 ERA on the back of a 12/13 BB/K over 19 2/3 innings. He has allowed 5 home runs, a very high rate for that few innings.

Jesse Winker, OF, Cincinnati Reds, and Bradley Zimmer,
OF, Cleveland Indians

Both Ohio teams have some impressive outfield prospects, and while both teams will very possibly see more than just Winker and Zimmer show up in the majors this season, they are the the top outfield prospect in each system.

Zimmer has been one of the top 25-50 prospects in the game for the last few seasons after the Indians drafted him in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft. He came up when Abraham Almonte was injured due to his excellent range and plus arm being able to handle both center and right field. Zimmer has hit pretty much like you’d expect with his skill set, with a .267/.389/.533 line. Zimmer has a long swing that will likely mean he doesn’t hit for a high average, but he has a good eye and his long swing generates significant power. Zimmer also brings very good speed to the table, and he already has hit a home runa nd stolen a base in the majors in 5 games.

Winker was up for just a brief call up this season, but he will likely return. Winker is a tremendous hitter with average to below-average defensive skills in the outfield, and he could be a guy called up for a week when the Reds have multiple series in American League parks on their schedule.

Currently, Winker is trying to break into the Cincinnati outfield, but with the elite defense and power of both Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler paired with the incredible speed and defense of Billy Hamilton, the outfield in Cincinnati is full, meaning Winker could be a trade target.

Anthony Alford, OF, Toronto Blue Jays, and Magneuris Sierra, OF, St. Louis Cardinals

CTTP explored a scouting report on Alford, and his elite talent is well-known. Alford was a legit SEC football player as well as playing minor league baseball his first few seasons before choosing to move to baseball full time.

While Alford was primarily an injury fill-in for right now, jumping over AAA in going from AA to the major leagues, something the Blue Jays haven’t done with a hitter in a long time.

Sierra had an even larger jump, going from high-A in the Florida State League directly to the major leagues when he was promoted to St. Louis to cover for an injury with the big league club.

Sierra earned the jump due to his presence on the 40-man roster as much as anything else. He was hitting well with Palm Beach before the promotion, but certainly nothing that would encourage jumping over both AA and AAA.

Sierra did show well, especially defensively, in his major league time, likely earning a trip back later in the season. He was sent to AA Springfield when St. Louis got guys back from injury recently, which is a little more normal jump in the Cardinals system than the high-A to the majors hop!

Christian Arroyo, IF, San Francisco Giants, Yandy Diaz, IF, Cleveland Indians, and Daniel Robertson, IF, Tampa Bay Rays

While all three players have primarily started games for their teams when they’ve played, each of Arroyo, Diaz, and Robertson has lengthened his team’s bench with their ability to play multiple positions.

Diaz was a surprise addition to the Indians opening day roster, and his ability to handle third base and corner outfield allowed him to make 18 starts before he was sent back down to Columbus after opening with a .203/.268/.219 line. Signed out of Cuba, Diaz is known for having solid gap power and good bat control, so the big concern in his big league time was his sub-10% walk rate and 20%+ strikeout rate when he’s typically been a guy who is about 10-12% walk rate and 10-15% strikeout rate. To his credit, he’s returned back to his typical hard-hitting ways back in Columbus, with a .343/.447/.514 line with more walks than strikeouts.

Arroyo was a rather surprising first round pick when the Giants selected him 25th overall in 2013, and he’s been surprising ever since, as he doesn’t profile with a ton of speed or power, but he’s always had consistent contact ability at every level. After opening the season hitting near .450 for over two weeks of play, the Giants brought him up to the big league club, and he’s allowed the team to be flexible in their defensive alignment as he’s played at second, third, and shortstop.

Robertson was traded to the Rays in the deal that sent Ben Zobrist, and at the time, there was discussion whether he or Addison Russell was the better long-term prospect at shortstop. Robertson has always been a premium defender in the minor leagues, but his bat really didn’t develop, in spite of a good eye that allows for good walk rates.

Robertson has been the definition of a utility player this season for the Rays, making appearances this season at second, third, short, and left field this year. While he’s not a guy who will hit for a ton of power, he has walked in over 15% of his plate appearances this season.

Ian Happ, OF, Chicago Cubs, and Jorge Bonifacio, OF, Kansas City Royals

Two players their teams have been waiting on for some time have both made the impact their teams were hoping for when they brought them up.

Bonifacio is not a guy who is expected to be a dominating hitter, but his raw power was something missing in the Royals lineup, and when Jorge Soler was injured to open the season, the team needed a player with that kind of raw, electric power. Bonifacio can certainly provide that, if not a polished approach at the plate. He has hit .269/.333/.436 this season with 4 home runs, and he’s worked well into a shared role with Soler now that Soler is healthy between right field and DH.

Happ is a significantly more well-regarded prospect who just reached the major league level recently, making his debut on May 13th. While he has only played in the outfield (he has experience also playing second base in the minor leagues), his ability to play all three outfield positions has allowed the Cubs to absorb the recent injury to Jason Heyward with ease.

Happ has an outstanding bat with plate discipline and the ability to make consistent contact. In just 7 games, he’s hit .346/.452/.731 with 4 doubles and 2 home runs with the Cubs. He may return back to AAA Iowa when Heyward is healthy, but he’s certainly shown the Cubs that his bat is worthy of a spot at the major league level and given other teams in the league an idea of the type of player they’d acquire if they target him in a deal as the Cubs look to acquire help for their World Series title defense.

Jordan Montgomery, LHP, New York Yankees, Joe Jimenez,
RHP, Detroit Tigers, Nick Pivetta, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies

While each has had different levels of impact on the 2017 season, Montgomery, Pivetta, and Jimenez have each established themselves as parts of their teams’ long term futures.

The Yankees held a competition throughout spring training for their final rotation spot, and Montgomery’s excellent performance and left-handedness combined to give him the job. At 6’6″ and 225 pounds, Montgomery looks the part of an ideal pitcher frame, and when he gets up on the mound, he certainly has a solid presence.

While Montgomery’s stuff may not rate as plus in any single pitch, he has a combination of four pitches that he can throw for strikes that allows him to keep hitters off-balance, getting weak contact and swing and miss both for a guy without elite pitches. On the season, he’s posted a 4.81 ERA over 39 1/3 innings, with a 1.40 WHIP and a 18/37 BB/K ratio.

When the Philles traded away closer Jonathan Papelbon at the trade deadline in 2015, Pivetta was the return from the Nationals. Not considered among the elite starting prospects in the Philadelphia system, it was actually more assumed that Pivetta would end up in the bullpen with his quality sinking fastball and his power curve.

More from Call to the Pen

This season has seen Pivetta add more distinction to his slider, allowing that to become his number two pitch, and he’s worked with a true four-pitch arsenal, actually five, if you count his two-seam and four-seam fastballs as two different pitches. This has allowed him to have much better strikeout rates than would be projected. He’s also shown the ability to be a piece of the future Phillies rotation due to his pitch mix.

Last, but absolutely not least, is reliver Joe Jimenez of the Detroit Tigers. Tigers fans may see the 12.46 ERA Jimenez posted in the 5 appearances he’s made in 2017 while he’s been up and think I’m truly crazy for including him here, but Jimenez is an elite relief prospect, one of the few relievers who received legit top 100 consideration as a prospect.

Jimenez has a fastball that can reach the triple digits at top end and sits 95-98 MPH with excellent movement low in the zone along with a plus slider and a surprisingly effective change. The development of the change last season is what allowed him to ascend three levels and finish knocking on the major league door. He has yet to allow a run in AAA Toledo this season in a half dozen appearances at that level, and as he gets more major league time, he will be able to show that dominance in the major league level.

Next: Mock Draft Version 3.1

While this obviously doesn’t entail all 69 players that have debuted this season, we’ve covered a significant portion. Is there anyone you’ve enjoyed watching that we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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