Written by: Ray Butler (@CoachRayButler)
Follow prospects-365.com on Twitter: @Prospects365
Shortly before lunch on Thursday, the MLB officially announced rosters for the 2017 Futures Game. If you haven’t yet seen the rosters, look no further:
Let’s discuss a couple of different things that caught my attention as I was examining these rosters.
- Remember when Eloy Jimenez announced his arrival to the world last year during the Futures Game? There’s a handful of guys who I think have a chance to do that this year: Ronald Acuna, Yordan Alvarez, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Rhys Hoskins. Remember that Jimenez was already well-known by the prospect industry and community when he put on an absolute show with the bat and the glove last year. The eye-opening performance put him on the radar of most commonplace baseball fans. The guys I mentioned above have a chance to do the exact same thing during this season’s Futures Game.
- Will Amed Rosario be eligible to play on July 9th when the Futures Game takes place? I’m done being surprised by the Mets and their willingness to be less good than they could be. I’ve long predicted that Rosario would be called up by the big club “before July”. That (somehow) no longer seems likely, so at this point it seems probable that Rosario will hang around and get the opportunity to showcase his talents to the world (he also played in the Futures Game last season).
- I’m glad Kyle Tucker received an invite to play in the game. Tucker spent around the first month of the season in High-A before being promoted to AA, where he currently plays for Corpus Christi. Due to a lack of service time (I suppose), Tucker wasn’t invited to play in the Texas League All-Star game. Thankfully, he got the nod for the Futures Game and will get to play against some of the best prospects in the entire world instead of the best prospects in the Texas League.
- In a perfect world, I think we all would have liked to see Willy Adames, Chance Adams, Walker Buehler, Willie Calhoun, Michael Chavis, Tyler Mahle and Renato Nunez play on a stage as large as the Futures Game. In general, though, the rosters are stacked. Should lead to a lot of fireworks in preparation for and during the game.
- I’m very interested to see and hear reports on how Scott Kingery fairs during Futures Game week. His performance will go a long way to validating many of the opinions formed on him this season, one way or the other.
- Speaking of validation, Ryan McMahon has to be SO pumped to receive an invite to the game this year. Once in the conversation of best third base prospects in all of baseball, McMahon had an extremely disappointing 2016 season. He’s been spectacular this year, though, and finds himself rewarded with an opportunity to play in the biggest prospect game of the season.
- There’s a chance you’ve never even heard of Estevan Florial, but the tooly prospect from Haiti has a chance to firmly plant himself on prospect lists going forward with a strong performance during Futures Game week. He’s only in Low-A (and 19 years old until November), so I’m anxious to see how he fairs against older players who possess some of the same tools and abilities he does. Keep your eye out for reports on Florial leading up to the game.
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ronald Acuna are the youngest and third-youngest players invited to this season’s Futures Game, respectively (Bo Bichette is second-youngest, FWIW). I find that amazing, especially when you consider that Guerrero Jr. and Acuna may have the two highest ceilings of all prospects in baseball.
- Beau Burrows isn’t a top 100 guy for me yet, but there’s no doubt that he’s been absolutely fantastic this season in High-A and AA. He’ll be 21 in September, and a strong showing during the Futures Game would go a long way in cementing his status as a top-notch prospect.
- Thyago Vieira’s present and future is in the bullpen, but he may be the hardest thrower of anyone invited to the Futures Game. Yes, that includes Michael Kopech. Vieira made waves this spring in Mariners’ camp, and he should eventually be a high-leverage guy that pairs with Edwin Diaz to form one of the best reliever duos in the major leagues.
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Credit for featured image goes to MLB.com.