Rosters have been set for Major League Baseball’s Futures Game. First pitch is scheduled for Saturday at 4pm EST. Earlier in the day, tastemakers gather around the batting cage to marvel at the prowess of these youngsters, which seems to generate more helium in the prospect-sphere than the game itself. Makes sense to me. It’s a seven-inning exhibition, and while it’s fun, it’s hard to take too much away from that, although if you reacted to Drake Baldwin’s easy opposite field home run in last year’s game, you played it right.
Here’s a link to the full Futures Game rosters:
A few names jump out to me as having a chance to enhance their name value with a nice batting practice session: Pirates OF Esmerlyn Valdez, Pirates SS Konnor Griffin, Phillies C Eduardo Tait, and Athletics 3B Tommy White. None of these guys are going to sneak up on the people there to see them, but they’re all going to be extremely impressive alongside the game’s best prospects. Griffin is the number one prospect in the minors right now. By no means am I unique in this belief, but it’s going to be the consensus soon, and it might happen next weekend.
In the game itself, I think Mets RHP Jonah Tong and Twins SS Kaelen Culpepper stand to gain some dynasty value when people clap eyes on them. Tong because he’s fun. Culpepper because the perception around him as a high-floor, plus-defender seems to have distracted from his offensive potential.
With the trade deadline around the corner and Detroit 13 games up in the AL Central, Tigers 2B Max Anderson (23, AA) should bring some scouts to the stands over the next few weeks. He’s slashing .341/.391/.562 with 11 home runs and just 43 strikeouts (14.2%) in 67 games, and while he’s not exactly an extra piece to the team’s long-term plans, they’ve got a lot of pieces in place already and even have some big pieces yet to sort. On the other hand, their best infield in two years might have McGonigle at shortstop and Anderson at second base. I love these situations for some reason. Been tracking this Tigers thing for a while in this space, and it’s fun to see them become something close to what people expected to see from Baltimore.
Another couple guys I like who could be on the move this month are Milwaukee pitching prospects RHP Tyson Hardin (23, AA) and RHP Bishop Letson (20, A+). I had Hardin rostered in the Razz30 earlier this season but dropped him in a rush for relievers, and I can easily see myself coming to regret that decision even more than I do today. He’s been fantastic this season and lights-out since his promotion to Double-A a few weeks ago. In three starts at the new level, he’s pitched 17 innings and allowed three runs with an 0.82 WHIP largely because he’s always in the strike zone. He’s walked just 11 batters in 74.2 innings across two levels on the season. While Hardin looks like he might be ready to contribute in some capacity soon, Letson offers a higher upside option who might take a while. A 13th round pick out of high school in 2023, Letson showed up this spring with a little more juice in his 6’4” 170 lb frame and started blowing away batters who are 3.2 years older than him on average, recording a 0.85 WHIP with 30 strikeouts in 27 innings. He’s on the injured list right now with a right shoulder injury, but that might make him a little easier to acquire for someone looking for a risk-reward play.
Giants SS Jhonny Level (18, CPX) is 1.6 years younger than the average age in the Arizona Complex League, but you wouldn’t know it from his outcomes. He’s slashing .309/.397/.531 in 44 games this season and .346/.435/.617 while walking more (14.5%) than he’s striking out (13%) over his last 29 games. He’s still floating around the wire in some dynasty leagues out there where he probably shouldn’t be at this point.
Nationals SS Marconi German (17, DSL) signed for $400,000 in January and looks like a good investment for the Nats. A switch-hitter listed at 5’10” 170 lbs, German has shown power (5 HR), speed (15 SB) and plate skills (21 walks against 14 strikeouts) through 17 games. He’s got a slightly open stance with a slight front-leg realignment as the pitch comes in, and his hand-patch is quick and direct, which is helping him track the ball pretty deep into the zone for a teenager. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, I’m a little worried about the timelines on these kids. They used to get promoted to the complex leagues a calendar year after their initial signing to keep the bonus safe from a tax penalty set up by the government in the Dominican Republic. Moving forward, some teams may pump the brakes a bit depending on how ICE deploys its new money and power. They’ve said Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez is being detained over alleged cartel ties and other infractions, but the precedent of plucking an athlete with paperwork off the street has been set.
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