Ranking the MLB prospects who will make a big-league impact this season
SP George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners and C Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles headline the second wave of prospects who will make an impact this season.
Steve GardnerOne of the most intriguing aspects of MLB’s new collective bargaining agreement was the incentive for teams to promote top prospects. If their players finish among the top two in the league in the rookie of the year balloting, teams receive a valuable bonus draft pick.
For a change, many of the top-rated minor leaguers actually began the regular season on major league rosters (or were called up almost immediately). However, the jolt of excitement quickly faded as consensus top-10 prospects Bobby Witt Jr. (.217, 3 HR through Sunday’s games), Julio Rodriguez (.264, 2 HR, but 10 SB), Spencer Torkelson (.153, 3 HR) and C.J. Abrams (.182, 0 HR) have mostly struggled in their big-league debuts.
Abrams, along with top-50 prospects Bryson Stott (.135, 0 HR) and Josh Lowe (.188, 1 HR), even had to return to the minor leagues.
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