Prospects Primed To Produce In 2021

One of the best parts of spring training is getting to attach a face to the game’s up-and-coming prospects. We’ve heard whispers about the players, but good luck picking SS Wander Franco, the future of the Tampa Bay Rays and highest-rated prospect in MLB, out of a crowd. Baseball’s weird like that. Zion Williamson, the NBA’s next big superstar, was arguably the most well-known basketball player in the country before he ever set foot on a professional court. The same goes with footballers like QB Baker Mayfield. Amateur baseball, or any baseball that doesn’t have “major league” before it, just doesn’t get the same love that the other big American sports do. 

This article is about the players that are ready to make an impact on the big stage this coming season. Notice that I am limiting the list to prospects who haven’t made their MLB debut yet. So sorry to Atlanta Braves RHP Ian Anderson, Chicago White Sox IF Nick Madrigal and Miami Marlins RHP Sixto Sánchez. Yes, technically, they are “prospects,” but so is OF Randy Arozarena, aka the Rays’ entire 2020 postseason offense. I mean, if you hit .377 with ten bombs in a single postseason, we can all stop saying that you’re one of the stars of tomorrow, right? 

OK, enough rambling. Let’s get to the list.

San Diego Padres LHP Mackenzie Gore

Not only does San Diego now boast one of the scarier starting rotations in the league, but they’ve also got the best pitching prospect in baseball. Gore’s got a kitchen sink’s worth of plus pitches. Combine that with his probably-really-annoying-to-hit-against, is-he-trying-to-knee-himself-in-the-face leg kick, and you’ve got a guy that’s going to draw comparisons to SP Clayton Kershaw. Is he the next Kershaw, you ask? I’ll give a conservative no. Can he be a contributor on a World Series contender? Well, yes. If the small sample size of his innings pitched in spring training gives us any indication, Gore’s stuff is better than good enough to get big league hitters out — when he throws it over the plate, that is. Scouting reports do rave about his command, and it’s fair to reason he’ll rediscover his map to the strike zone come April or May. Gore will need to find his command if he wants to compete for a rotation spot on this loaded roster.

Chicago White Sox 1B Andrew Vaughn

Everybody agrees Vaughn can hit. Since college, he has annihilated baseballs, putting up the sort of numbers you do when you’re playing video games on easy mode. But does he do anything else even moderately well on a baseball field? That’s a different question, one that the White Sox might best answer with, “Does he have to?” Vaughn seems destined to crack into The Show this year as a DH — he’s not going to bump 2020 MVP José Abreu off first base anytime soon. Adding his bat to the most potent young offense in the American League would be devastating for opponents. I mean, have you seen their lineup? Abreu, Madrigal, IF Yoan Moncada, OF Eloy Jiménez, SS Tim Anderson and OF Luis Robert. Sheesh, it’s a standing-room-only for talent in that clubhouse.

Seattle Mariners OF Jarred Kelenic and OF Julio Rodríguez

The only thing I knew about the Mariners was that OF Kyle Lewis, whose nightmares I continue to haunt, is the team’s centerfielder. Now, I know two other things: Seattle has the two best outfield prospects in baseball, Kelenic and Rodríguez, and there’s a solid chance both join the reigning AL Rookie of The Year in 2021. Kelenic is probably the earlier call-up between the two. He might be the best overall athlete in the minors and could turn into a five-tool stud once he gets a feel for big-league pitching. Rodríguez is a bit younger, a bit rawer, but it’s baseballs beware when he swings the bat. Please take a look at the bomb he hit against the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. Launch angle, schmaunch angle. The ball probably didn’t get higher than 15 feet off the ground and went about 440 feet to dead center. Plus, Rodríguez is oozing with the sort of swagger and fun that will make crusty old baseball puritans get all pissy.

Baltimore Orioles C Adley Rutschman

Baltimore has been the corpse rotting at the bottom of MLB Power Rankings for some time now, and they’ll probably continue to be for a while longer. But alas, shining somewhat dimly on the horizon is the debut of the best catching prospect in baseball: Adley Rutschman. The way people talk about him sounds like he’s the second coming of the game’s last great hitting and defensive wizard C Joe Mauer, but with more pop in his bat. For the sake of all 12 of you Orioles fans still holding strong, I really hope he is. Of course, he’s not going to make the team good magically — Baltimore needs to add a bunch more pieces to become competitive. But his arrival will be a step in the right direction, whenever that time comes. This season is looking a bit iffy, but here’s to hoping for some Orioles buzz that isn’t overwhelmingly negative.

Tampa Bay Rays SS Wander Franco

The aforementioned Pretty Prince of Prospects will, at some point, join last year’s World Series losers and will do so under the loftiest of expectations. The way everybody’s drooling over Franco, it’s like if he’s anything less than a perennial all-star, Francisco Lindor-type player, it’ll be a disappointment. But in everybody’s defense, Franco is staggeringly talented. He’s got tools. His tools have tools. His tools’ tools have, well, you get it. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if he scuffles out of the gate, similarly to how former top dog Moncada did in 2017 before finding his stride in ’19. Franco, only 20 years old, is probably a few years out from being fully realized. I mean, they can’t all be Fernando Tatís Jr.

So there you have it, folks. All there’s left to do is sit back, wait and hope none of these guys suffer the same fate as Minnesota Twins shortstop prospect Royce Lewis, who would’ve been on this list if he hadn’t torn his ACL. To which I say, I remember my first drink, too.

IF Wander Franco. Cover photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports