Spring won’t officially arrive for another month, but Spring Training has. Pitchers and catchers officially have reported and the remainder of the position players will do so early next week.
Let the competition for big league jobs begin! Below, we identify an interesting prospect in each organization who’s vying for an Opening Day roster spot.
We’re not including locks such as Jackson Chourio and Evan Carter, focusing instead on players whose immediate future is more uncertain but they’re in a position to do something about it. Our contingent includes 16 Top 100 Prospects.
Blue Jays: Ricky Tiedemann, LHP (MLB No. 29)
On one hand, Tiedemann still hasn’t thrown more than 78 2/3 innings during a Minor League regular season, and the Jays might want to monitor him heavily at Triple-A early on with hopes of getting him 100-plus innings for the first time in 2024. On the other, his fastball-slider-changeup mix would play in the Majors, and with Toronto trying to compete in a crowded AL East, it might want to consider using Tiedemann as a bullpen option early and easing him into the MLB rotation. If the left-hander dominates like he could this spring, he’ll make the decision all the tougher.
Orioles: Jackson Holliday, SS/2B (MLB No. 1)
We know, we’re really going out on a limb by highlighting the best prospect in baseball. But for those who think it’s a matter of when, not if, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick ascends to Baltimore, seeing how he mixes it up with the big leaguers this spring will be essential.
Rays: Junior Caminero, 3B (MLB No. 4)
Caminero is a 20-year-old coming off a 31-homer season, and the Rays were so enthused by his plus-plus pop that they put him on the postseason roster. Typically, that’s a sign that the organization is going to make room for its future superstar. However, Isaac Paredes is coming off a 31-homer season of his own at Caminero’s best position, and for now, he is unlikely to move just to accommodate a player with no Triple-A experience. A slug-heavy spring could make Kevin Cash’s decision tougher and thrust Caminero’s future MLB spot into the present.
Red Sox: Ceddanne Rafaela, OF/SS (MLB No. 76)
Rafaela will get a chance to win the Red Sox’s center-field job after producing consecutive 20-20 seasons and standing out as one of the best and most versatile defenders in the Minors. Signed for a mere $10,000 out of Curacao in 2017, he’s not very physical at a listed 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds but plays very aggressively — and his plate discipline may determine if he breaks camp with Boston.
Yankees: Chase Hampton, RHP (MLB No. 92)
Hampton probably won’t make the Yankees’ Opening Day rotation, but with all the age and uncertainty in that group, they’ll need reinforcements at some point. The 2022 sixth-rounder from Texas Tech has four solid or better pitches and posted a 3.63 ERA with a 145/37 K/BB ratio in 106 2/3 innings while reaching Double-A in his pro debut.
Guardians: Deyvison De Los Santos, 3B/1B
De Los Santos is a Rule 5 pick from the Diamondbacks who has yet to play above Double-A and recorded scary strikeout (26 percent), walk (5 percent) and chase (40 percent) rates at that level last year. But he also has raw power and exit velocities that rank among the best in the Minors, which make him a nice fit on a Cleveland team that finished last in the Majors in homers in 2023. He batted .322/.340/.596 after reworking his right-handed swing in July.
Royals: Nick Loftin, UTIL
Loftin certainly made an impression by going 20-for-62 (.323) over 19 games in the bigs last season. He achieved that by staying in the zone and focusing on contact and skills that should continue to translate at the top level, and on the defensive end, he continued to show versatility by playing all over the dirt. Free-agent signing Garrett Hampson is a faster utilityman option for Kansas City, but Loftin should give him plenty of competition to crack his first Opening Day roster.
Tigers: Justyn-Henry Malloy,…
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