Top Prospects Ready to Make MLB Impact

There are numerous top prospects set to make an impact in the major leagues this season, as I wrote about a few months ago, but for this particular post, I’m only focusing on the players who are ready right now to get a callup to the big leagues, but are yet to for one reason or another. Keep in mind as you’re reading, the players (in no particular order) I’ve included are yet to play a single game in the majors:

Archie Bradley is the first player on my list, as he nearly made the Diamondback’s rotation out of Spring Training. Going 14-5, with a 1.84 ERA last season, Bradley is one of those players who is sure to make an immediate impact upon his first callup to the majors. Though it could be awhile longer before Bradley gets his first big league start, he’s ready now, nonetheless, to show off his stuff on the highest level.

Another player who nearly made the majors out of Spring Training, and likely should have, is George Springer. Blasting the second-most home runs of any player in the minors last season, with a total of 37, Springer is sure to be one of the key pieces for the Astros moving forward, whenever his callup takes place. With the Astros’ outfield struggling, besides Dexter Fowler, bringing up Springer would be a smart thing to do.

Gregory Polanco could end up being as big of a difference maker for the Pirates as Andrew McCutchen. Though he’s yet to prove his ability on the major league level, there are a lot of people who feel Polanco is experienced enough to make the jump. Currently in Triple-A, it will likely be a bit of time before Polanco is called up, however, his combination of speed, power, and ability to hit for average should help him stick.

Joc Pederson is more than ready to make his major league debut, but there’s a big problem he faces: he’s an outfielder in the Dodgers’ organization. With a current outfield of Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford, Pederson simply has nowhere to go. While it could be a good bit of time before the Dodgers’ figure out a solution to the situation they have with Pederson, he should be up before too long.

Currently battling an injury, Addison Russell can’t technically be called up to the major leagues until he fully recovers, which likely means more minor league time, however, he is nearly ready. Russell is coined to be the next great all around shortstop, and many people feel he has the potential to win multiple Gold Glove awards. With the Athletics’ contract to their current shortstop, Jed Lowrie, almost up, Russell will be up fairly soon.

Some honorable mentions, of player who are getting close to being major league ready but aren’t quite, include Oscar Taveras, Javier Baez, Noah Syndergaard, Alex Meyer, Eddie Butler, Jonathan Singleton, Garin Cecchini and Stephen Piscotty.

All are showing tons of major league potential, and the majority of those players should see time in the major leagues at some point in the second half of this season. The remaining few will get their first glimpse of the majors in the early part of 2015.

Top 5 Favorite Players-2011 Update # 6

There’s a lot to talk about this week. It has been a very productive one for my favorite players. So let’s get started:

HEATH BELL
Heath Bell has had three save opportunities since my last entry. He however only converted two out of the three of those opportunities into saves. And last night was a big one for his career. Getting one more save meant passing Trevor Hoffman for the all time Padres consecutive saves leader. But it wasn’t meant to be. With two out in the top of the ninth, Heath got a ground ball to third base. Easy play right? Wrong. The ball was bounced and the first baseman couldn’t snag it. The streak of 41 consecutive saves, was over. But Heath Bell has another milestone coming up that is also exciting. His 100th save. He is currently at 98 saves. So it won’t take him long to reach triple digits. (The Padres are currently 13-19.)

DEREK JETER
Since last Saturday’s entry, Derek has gotten five more hits. This brings his career total to 2,954 hits. Only 46 away from 3,000. (See my milestone tracker on the right side.) Jeter has been a little more consistent lately in his hitting. He has gotten a hit in his last four games played. Maybe he will finally get into a groove, and help to speed along the process of getting him to 3,000 hits. It’s one of those milestones that when you’re in a slump can seem so far away. But when you start to see the ball better, and get hits, can approach fast. (The Yankees are currently 18-12.)

TIM LINCECUM
Tim has had only one start since my last entry. In that one start he accomplished a great deal of things. First of all, he got the win. That’s always important. Second of all he got TWELVE strikeouts, putting him past Christy Mathewson for the most double digit strikeout games in Giants history. His career strikeouts is also very impressive. Tim currently has 964 career strikeouts. So look out in his next few starts for Tim to hit 1,000 strikeouts for his career. (The Giants are currently 16-16.)

ALBERT PUJOLS
Although still not the slugger so far that he was last year, Albert Pujols is starting to increase his batting average. His current average is .264 for the season. His hits have come mostly off of singles, and have been rather consistent lately. Around one every game. Although Albert did have three hits against the Marlins Thursday night. Pujols has a milestone as well that is approaching. 2,000 career hits. He currently has 1,926 career hits. So he’s only 74 hits away. I know that sounds like a lot, but if he starts to hit like the old Albert, it will be here in no time. (The Cardinals are currently 19-14.)

MARIANO RIVERA
Mariano currently has 571 saves for his career. (See my milestone tracker to the right.) This brings him 31 away from passing Trevor Hoffman for the most saves ever. The way Mariano Rivera is pitching lately, it will take something drastic for him to not reach the record. He is just so dominating on the mound, and nine times out of ten, gets the job done. Last nights save was the twelfth of the season for Mo.

OTHER GENERAL BASEBALL NEWS

• Since being arrested on DUI charges on Monday, Shin-Soo Choo has gone 0-11 in plate appearances.

• Willie Mays turned 80 years old yesterday.

• Andre Ethier has a current hit streak of thirty games.

I more than likely won’t be able to write an update next Saturday. Reason being, that MLBlogs is undergoing a conversion from Movable type pro to WordPress. During that time I won’t be able to access my blog. So I may have to do a two week entry the next Saturday, like I did last Saturday.

Reds Vs. Yankees– 45 days

Also, if you didn’t read about me winning tickets to a Padres game from Heath Bell, read about it HERE.

Top 5 Favorite Players-2011 Update # 5

It’s been two weeks since my last update of my favorite players, and a lot has happened:

HEATH BELL
Since my last entry, Heath Bell earned another two saves. This brings his career saves to 96. Heath is off to a great start this year, as he is still perfect in saves versus save opportunities. (5 for 5.) Heath’s most recent top play included him striking out Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. When Heath gets to 100 saves I’m going to write a blog entry about him, so check back when he reaches the milestone. (The Padres are currently 9-17.)

DEREK JETER
Derek Jeter currently has 2,949 hits for his career. (See my milestone tab to the right.) This leaves him just 51 hits away from 3,000. It’s hard to predict when exactly Jeter will reach the milestone. Reason being, is that he’s not consistent. On one night he might not get any hits. And on another, he might get 4 hits. He’s that unpredictable. Unpredictable or not, Jeter’s average is currently .258. Not horrible, but not great either. (The Yankees are currently 14-9.)

TIM LINCECUM
Tim has had three starts since my last entry. Lincecum was pitching just like him nickname, “The Freak”, would suggest he should on April 18th. He came close to a no hitter, taking it into the sixth inning. Since that great game, Lincecum’s last two starts have been terrible. Giving up 8 runs combined over the last two games. Tim’s current ERA is 2.90, with a win-loss record of 2-3. (The Giants are currently 12-13.)

ALBERT PUJOLS
Albert Pujols is currently tagged with a .255 batting average. The bad part about his batting average is that it doesn’t reflect how well he’s been playing lately. Since my last entry Pujols has been hitting the ball a lot better. He is up to 7 home runs this season. Giving him 415 home runs for his career. It is rare to see Albert batting under .300, though I feel he’ll get it above the .300 mark before the beggining of June. (The Cardinals are currently 15-11.)

MARIANO RIVERA
Mariano Rivera has a current saves to saves oppotunity ratio of 8 for 10. Yes, that means Mo’s not perfect. He did blow two saves since my last entry. But hey, he’s still leading the AL East in saves with 8. So he’s still the best closer in baseball. Just not perfect as we ALL thought. (Or at least, I did.) Mariano currently has 567 career saves. Which means he’s just 35 away from the all time saves record.

OTHER GENERAL BASEBALL NEWS

• Ozzie Guillen was suspended for two games after tweeting about the ejection call by home the home plate umpire, during the game.

• Andre Ethier has a current hitting streak of 25 straight games. (Let’s hope I don’t jinx it.)

• Johnny Damon had a 16 game hitting streak until losing it in last nights game versus the Angels.

I’ll try to post a new entry every Saturday for the rest of the season, but I can’t promise it. I’ll do my best to do so, but I am sometimes REALLY busy on the weekends. But hopefully I’ll be able to get the job done.

I’m adding a new feature to the bottom of my updates. A days ’til my next Major League ballgame stat. And it’s starting in this entry:

Reds Vs. Yankees— 52 days