Top prospects set to debut during the 2023 MLB season
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The 2022 MLB season featured the debuts of some of the league’s most exciting players. Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez took home the American League Rookie of the Year award, hitting 28 home runs and stealing 23 bases and leading the M’s to their first playoff appearance and series victory since 2001.
National League ROY Michael Harris was not far behind Rodriguez, slugging 19 home runs and stealing 20 bases in just 114 games for the Atlanta Braves.
Last season also featured the debut of 2019 first-overall pick Adley Rutschman, who helped the Baltimore Orioles to their first winning record since 2016. The No. 2 pick in the 2019 Draft, Bobby Witt Jr., also made his MLB debut for the Kansas City Royals last season, hitting 20 homers and stealing 30 bases.
On the mound, Braves’ pitcher Spencer Strider finished second in ROY voting after finishing with an 11-5 record with 202 strikeouts in 131.2 innings.
With Opening Day on the horizon, TSN.ca takes a look at the top prospects who could make a similar impact on the 2023 season.
Jordan Walker, 3B/OF, St. Louis Cardinals
MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 prospect has made the Cardinals Opening Day roster and is expected to make an immediate impact.
The 20-year-old is currently fighting for a spot in a crowded St. Louis outfield but a strong Spring Training has given the team enough reason to start him in the majors in order to get his bat into the lineup Through 15 games, Walker is hitting .286 with three home runs, two steals, and nine RBI. FanGraphs currently projects Walker to be the Cards' designated hitter.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Walker has hit over .300 in each of his two minor-league seasons, finishing 2022 with a .306 average, 19 home runs and 22 steals in Double-A. Walker projects as a 30-home run bat in the majors.
Anthony Volpe, SS, New York Yankees
The Yankees’ top prospect, and MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 prospect, is currently projected by Fangraphs to be New York's starting shortstop after Oswald Peraza was optioned to the minors.
Volpe was the 30th pick in the 2019 draft and has flashed true five-tool potential over his two full minor league seasons. In 241 games across four minor-league levels, the 21-year-old has hit 48 home runs and stolen 83 bases while slashing .263/.376/.505.
He was named MLB Pipeline’s Hitting Prospect of the Year in 2021 and, in 2022, became the MiLB player to hit 20 home runs and steal 50 bases since Andruw Jones in 1995.
Over the weekend the Yankees announced that Volpe has made the Opening Day roster due to his solid spring performance, as he’s hit .314 with three home runs and five steals.
"He has played awesome. He has come in with one of the big stories of camp, and he's delivered and performed," said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
Veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa could take some at-bats from the rookie but Volpe should get the majority of time at the position.
Grayson Rodriguez, SP, Baltimore Orioles
The league’s No.2 pitching prospect was expected to make his major-league debut in 2022 but was delayed due to a lat strain he sustained in June.
Rodriguez, 23, was excellent in Triple-A before the injury, compiling a 6-1 record with a 2.20 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 97 strikeouts in 69.2 innings over 14 starts.
The 6-foot-5 right-hander has struck out 12.9 batters per nine innings across four minor-league seasons and has held batters to a combined .173 batting average.
Rodriguez did not make the opening day roster after he struggled through Spring Training, posting a 7.04 ERA in 15.1 innings pitched. However, he could be the next pitcher in line if any member of the Orioles rotation gets injured.
Andrew Painter, SP, Philadelphia Phillies
Painter was knocking on the door of a rotation spot for the Phillies before a sprained UCL in his throwing arm delayed the start of his season.
MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 pitching prospect soared up the rankings last season as he dominated three minor-league levels as a 19-year-old. The 6-foot-7 fireballer possesses a fastball that touches triple digits and averaged over 96 MPH last season. Combined with a plus slider and curve, Painter struck out over 13 batters per nine innings in 2022, finishing the season with a 1.56 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over 103.2 innings.
Painter is scheduled to resume throwing at the end of March and Phillies president Dave Dombrowski believes he will pitch for the big-league club at some point during the 2023 season.
If all goes well, Painter could explode onto the scene sometime in May or June.
Rookies who saw Major League action in 2022
Gunnar Henderson, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
Henderson comes into the 2023 season as MLB Pipeline’s top overall prospect. The 21-year-old flashed his potential in a cup of coffee with the Orioles late last season, hitting four home runs and driving in 18 runs over 34 games.
Henderson showed his on-base skills in his first major-league action, getting on base at a .348 clip. He will hit at the top of the Baltimore lineup and is the current favourite (based on FanDuel odds) to win AL Rookie of the Year.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Carrol is another top prospect who flashed elite potential in a cup of coffee last season after the Diamondbacks brought the outfielder up for the final portion of their season. MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 prospect hit .260 with four home runs, 16 RBI and two stolen bases over 32 games.
The 22-year-old is an elite athlete with five-tool potential, as he hit 24 homers and stole 31 bases to go along with a .307/.425/.610 slash line between Double and Triple-A last season.
Carroll is an elite defender and is already one of the fastest, if not the fastest, players in the league, as Statcast measured his sprint speed at 30.7 feet per second, the fastest in the majors last season.
Carroll enters the season tied with Walker as the betting favourite to win NL Rookie of the Year.
Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets
Alvarez is MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 prospect and hit one home run in a small five-game sample last season, showing off the power that makes him a top prospect.
Unlike Henderson and Carroll, the 21-year-old is unlikely to start the year in the majors as the Mets signed veteran catcher Omar Narvaez to be their starter to open the season.
His bat will eventually earn him a spot with the Mets, as Alvarez crushed 27 home runs in 112 games last season between Double and Triple-A. Alvarez will need to improve his defence behind the plate to take the full-time job from Narvaez but should find himself in the Mets’ already powerful lineup at some point in 2023.