Players to watch in the 2022 MLB Futures Game

          Some would say that the only event that matters when it comes to MLB All-Star week is the Home Run Derby.  Without a doubt, the Derby is the most exciting event, and it seems like this year’s is shaping up to be an intriguing show based off of the few confirmed participants. 

Spoiler alert: Albert Pujols seems like he’s going to give it one last go.  I have my opinions on that, but we’ll save them for a future article.

          Anyways, while the Derby is the main attraction, it’s obviously far from the only event that takes place.  Of course there’s the All-Star game itself and the Celebrity Game, but the event that I find is extremely under-appreciated is the Futures Game.  Baseball struggles to get fans to watch its regular season games, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Futures Game is forgotten about.  But think about it… the players in this game are the stars of tomorrow, as cheesy as that sounds.  Admittedly, my fandom is tied to two franchises in the Rangers and Marlins who have been just terrible enough to luck into a few highly ranked prospects that get to play in this game.  So, I understand that I have more reason to be invested in the game than most.  Unless you’re a Pirates fan… in which case you’re right here with me.

          As I mentioned, the prospects in this game are the stars of tomorrow.  Let’s take a quick trip back in time to past Futures games.  A trip back to the future, if you will.  In 2002, the Futures game MVP was Jose Reyes who you might recognize as the star shortstop for the Mets.  If we go even further back in time, you could’ve seen Cubs’ legend Alfonso Soriano win the 1999 Futures game MVP.  If those two guys are a little bit before your time, that’s fine.  In 2014, you could have witnessed Joey Gallo put his freakish power on display when he hit a 419 ft homer on his way to his own Futures Game MVP. 

          My point is, the players you grow to love in the Majors tend to follow the same path through the Futures Game.  To me, that’s such an awesome feeling as a fan of baseball to see these guys before they make it to The Show.  It’s the same feeling you get when you discover an unknown artist for the first time before any of your friends, and you just can’t wait to put them on to that artist.  Personally, I love that feeling.

          With all that being said, I want to put you all on to the top five prospects that I’m looking forward to seeing play in this Futures Game.  I tried to pick five guys that I believe will not only show up in the Majors in the next couple years, but will end up being household names.  Some of them you may know, some of them you may not.  But if you’re a fan of baseball, I think you’ll know them all very soon.  Let’s take a look. *All rankings & stats are courtesy of MLB.com*

5) Jack Leiter – Rangers’ Pitcher

          - As I said before, I am a Rangers fan which leads to me having a rooting interest in this game fairly often.  This year, my rooting interest comes in the form of Jack Leiter.  Older fans may recognize him as the son of former two-time All-Star Al Leiter.  Fans of college baseball will recognize Jack as the kid who ran through the NCAA during his final season at Vanderbilt.  Now to be honest, Jack hasn’t had the best start to his professional career overall.  However, he has absolutely shown flashes of why the Rangers drafted him number 2 overall in 2021, and why MLB.com has him ranked as the 17th overall prospect.  He’s struggled giving up runs, but his ability to sit batters down has been on display early and often as he’s had at least 5 strikeouts in 6 of his last 10 starts.  Hopefully he gets a decent amount of time on the mound during the game and can put his lethal fastball/curveball combo on display.

4) Anthony Volpe – Yankees’ Shortstop

          - If you hate the Yankees or just hate when the rich get richer, you might want to scroll on down to the next guy.  The Yankees are currently the best team in baseball, and they also get to throw the probable MVP out in the outfield every night.  And if that doesn’t frustrate you enough, go watch highlights of the 2019 30th overall pick and number 8 overall prospect Anthony Volpe.  At 5’11, 180 pounds, he fits the mold of the new age middle infielder that can combine speed with sneaky power.  I watched his highlight tape and there’s about a 30 second stretch where he hits an opposite field triple and follows that up with a no doubt home run over the light tower.  He’s batting .246 with 11 homers this year.  Oh by the way, he stole 33 bases last season.  His defensive highlights also put his athleticism on full display.  I’m assuming he’ll get plenty playing time in this game, so be on the lookout for some slick stops and a base hit or two from the Yankees’ top prospect.

3) Eury Perez – Marlins’ Pitcher

          - As if the Marlins didn’t have enough elite arms in their rotation.  They have a loaded rotation with two or three other elite arms in the minors along with Eury Perez.  The Marlins signed Perez out of the Dominican Republic in 2019.  At 19 years old, he is currently the 16th overall prospect according to MLB.com and stands at 6’8 220 lbs.  Yeah, you read that right.  6’8 at 19 years old and he was only 6’4 when they signed him in 2019.  In his 2 professional years, he has a 2.44 ERA and 195 strikeouts.  If he gets to pitch a couple innings, you’ll get to see a 6’8 19 year-old dominate the top prospects in the world. But while you marvel at this giant on the mound, keep in mind that he is far from a finished product and will only get better.  I can’t wait to see a the Marlins roll out a trio of Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera and Eury Perez. 

2) Francisco Alvarez – Mets’ Catcher

          - Let me sum up the number 2 overall prospect for you very quickly: LIGHT TOWER POWER.  That is what immediately jumps of the screen watching this guy.  There’s not a ton of defensive highlights being that he’s a catcher, but don’t worry, there’s enough jaw dropping homers to make up for it.  Now we have to be transparent. He’s struggled since making the jump to AAA with a batting average of .125.  But on the bright side, some guys find their groove during All-Star week.  I promise you, you want to be watching when Francisco is up to bat.  At 5’10 233 pounds, he is everything you’d imagine a stereotypical, power hitting catcher would be.  His swing is BEAUTIFUL. One of the purest I’ve seen, and the ball JUMPS off the bat when he makes contact.  So when he’s at the plate this weekend, get ya popcorn ready.

TOP GUY TO WATCH – Corbin Carroll – Diamondbacks’ Outfielder

          Everything you could want in your franchise star, Corbin Carroll has.  He can hit for contact.  He has sneaky power.  He has ELITE speed that allows him to have incredible range in the outfield.  He’s the number 3 overall prospect and is expected to make his MLB debut sometime in 2023.  The Diamondbacks drafted Carroll 19th overall in 2019, and he’s been everything they hoped for.  In 2022, he’s batting .315 with 18 homers.  There’s the contact and power.  He also has 8 triples and 20 stolen bases.  There’s the speed.  He is just an all around exciting player to watch, both in the batter’s box and in the outfield.  Carroll is my prediction for Futures Game MVP.  If he ended the game with 6 total bases and a highlight reel catch in the outfield, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised.  So, keep your eye on him now and be on the lookout for his Diamondbacks debut next year. But if you miss it, don’t stress, he’ll be around for a long time.

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