The 2015 season was a great one for MLB rookies. A handful of first-year guys like Joc Pederson, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Duffy, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant played big roles on contending teams. Who might do that in 2016?
Before we get started, please note that these rookies will not include those who have spent significant time playing professionally in another country like Byung Ho Park (Korea) or Kenta Maeda (Japan).
With that out of the way, let’s get going.
10. Tyler Glasnow, P, Pittsburgh Pirates
Glasnow’s stuff is unquestionable. He’s not only prevented runners from reaching base and runs from scoring but has averaged more than a strikeout per inning while doing so.
Control has been something of an issue, but Rob Biertempfel of Trib Live recently predicted that we’ll see Glasnow this year and also gave him a lofty comparison.
“Glasnow, 22, has dominated at every level of the minors so far and will begin this season at Triple-A Indianapolis. But, barring an injury or some other setback, the right-hander almost certainly will make his big league debut sometime this year.
Standing on the doorstep of the majors, Glasnow is arguably the Pirates’ most important prospect since Andrew McCutchen. The hype doesn’t seem to faze Glasnow.”
With Ray Searage as their pitching coach, the Pirates have been second-to-none in producing quality pitchers. They’ve revived the careers of control-plagued arms in A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano and overseen the development of top prospects like Gerrit Cole.
Glasnow has great stuff and, as Biertempfel stated, has put up quality numbers at every level. If he’s up in 2016, expect him to make a big impact for a team that’s made the postseason in each of the last three years.
9. Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees
Judge is a physical specimen, listed on Baseball Reference at 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds. With size like that, power is going to come very naturally. Judge’s pure physical dominance is already drawing some Hall of Fame comparisons in New York.
Watching Aaron Judge take BP is always interesting. Has the size and the power of a Dave Winfield. He just clubbed a Winfield-like HR, too.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) February 22, 2016
He’d probably be ranked higher if there was a clearer path to the majors. Right now, it looks like Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner will be the Yankees’ outfielders, Mark Teixeira will play first base, and Alex Rodriguez will be the primary DH.
That will keep Aaron Judge in the minors for a bit, but the chances of all of those players getting through 2016 healthy are minuscule. If any one of those guys gets hurt, the chain of events could open the door for Judge to get a trip to the Bronx.
8. Julio Urias, P, Los Angeles Dodgers
Urias won’t even turn 20 until August yet has already worked his way through the Dodgers organization and has a stated goal of making the team at some point this season.
He’s also drawn lofty comparisons to perhaps the greatest Dodgers rookie pitcher of all-time.
https://twitter.com/TBrownYahoo/status/701184175739568128
The comparisons isn’t exactly baseless. Urias has a minor league ERA of 2.91 and averaged nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings.
Los Angeles does have a strong starting rotation, but the chances of all five starters going through 2016 injury-free are minimal. Even if they do, the Dodgers’ bullpen is certainly a place Urias could land as a way to build himself up as a Major League starter.
The Dodgers are likely to at least be a playoff contender. If Urias stays healthy, he’ll be pitching some meaningful innings in a playoff race.
7. Lucas Giolito, P, Washington Nationals
While we’re on the subject of possibly pitching meaningful innings in a playoff race, meet Giolito, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound beast working his way through the Nationals’ organization.
Dusty continues to be impressed by Lucas Giolito: 'It's hard not to rush these kids.'
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) February 23, 2016
Indeed, it would not be at all surprising if Giolito is up with the big club at some point in 2016.
Washington’s once-deep pitching rotation is now incredibly top-heavy, and Giolito’s Minor League career suggests he’s the kind of player that can make an immediate impact.
The Nationals have been successful at churning out good, homegrown pitchers in the past. Giolito certainly has the tools to be another one.
6. Trea Turner, SS, Washington Nationals
From one Washington prospect to another. Turner had a brief stint with the Nationals in 2015, coming up late in the season. In January, general manager Mike Rizzo told Chelsea James of the Washington Post that Turner will have a chance to compete for an everyday middle-infield job.
“We love competition. Trea’s gonna come to spring training with the rest of the big leaguers and compete for a job at shortstop, and we love the depth that we’ve created there. His talent level is extremely high, and we’ve got extremely high hopes for him, and we’re gonna develop him the way that he should be developed.”
It’s not that Danny Espinosa is a bad player, but he’s simply not good enough to be blocking a prospect like Turner. He has a minor league slash line of .322/.384/.454 and has stolen more than 20 bases in each of his first two professional seasons.
Much like Giolito, Turner should not only be a big part of the Nationals future, but of their 2016 season as well.
5. Joey Gallo, 3B, Texas Rangers
Similar to Judge, Gallo would probably be a little higher on this list if there was a clearer path to the majors.
However, we actually caught a bit of a sneak preview from Gallo in 2015 when he smacked six home runs in only 108 MLB at-bats. He also had some growing pains, hitting only .204 with a .301 OBP and a whopping 57 strikeouts.
Texas manager Jeff Banister felt that the experience and struggles will ultimately be good for Gallo.
Rangers manager Jeff Banister on Joey Gallo #Resilience #Rational #Growth pic.twitter.com/zyZVoZHRWo
— Ben Ehrlich (@DrCoach_Ehrlich) February 22, 2016
Although Gallo will strike out a lot, the same things were said about Bryant at this time last year and still are. Even if Gallo doesn’t quite work out that well, he’s shown enough power to be at worst another version of Chris Carter, who has as much power as anyone in baseball.
Gallo plays third base and in the outfield, but he’s blocked in both of those spots right now. Still, the odds of Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton getting through 2016 completely healthy are long.
Gallo’s power is just too good to keep him in the minors.
4. Jose Berrios, P, Minnesota Twins
Berrios is definitely not being blocked by a slew of proven veterans that are stars or at least former stars.
He could certainly infiltrate Minnesota’s current five-man rotation of Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Duffey and Tommy Milone. Really, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Berrios do that early in the season.
Berrios put up good numbers in 2015, but the way they happened are what should really excite Twins fans. In nearly every way, Berrios was better as he pitched at a higher level.
At 6-foot-0 and 185 pounds, Berrios may not have the ideal build of an ace pitcher, but he’s put up great numbers and steadily improved as he’s worked his way through professional baseball.
That’s plenty of reason to expect he’ll be in Minnesota and pitching well at some point in 2016.
3. Steven Matz, P, New York Mets
Matz is still classified as a rookie, but we got a pretty good sense of what he could do in the majors. He posted a 2.27 ERA in six big-league starts with 34 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.
He told Newsday’s Marc Craig that his time with New York in 2015 is paying dividends.
“It helped a lot. To get called up and not know anybody would have been a lot more pressure and feeling out of place. For me to know the guys and be friends with them definitely made it easier for me.”
Similar to Berrios in Minnesota, Matz has worked his way through the Mets’ organization, seemingly getting better at each stop.
Indeed, Matz plugs in as a key element of the best starting rotation in Major League Baseball. The Mets again look like one of baseball’s best teams, which will put Matz in some big spots in his rookie season.
2. Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins
Like Berrios, our other Twin on this list, Buxton has a pretty clear path to the majors. His offensive game is still a work in progress, but as Derek Wetmore of ESPN 1500 says, Buxton’s defensive game is stellar.
“Buxton has tremendous range in the outfield. He catches balls that appear to observers to be out of reach. He does it without sliding or diving. He simply outruns fly balls or line drives hit to either gap. He also has perhaps the strongest throwing arm in the Twins’Â system, according to a talent evaluator with the team.”
As far as his offensive game goes, Buxton’s .209/.250/.326 slash line in his 2015 MLB cameo left a lot to be desired, but his minor league numbers give more reason for hope. Buxton slashed at .301/.383/.489 in four seasons and even stole 55 bases in 2013.
Buxton’s a great defensive player at the important position of center field, so he should be expected to be a major league fixture. If his offensive game develops, he’s a prime Rookie of the Year candidate.
1. Corey Seager, SS/3B, Los Angeles Dodgers
Seager is another prospect we saw briefly in 2015, and he made quite an impact. Seager slashed at .337/.425/.561 with four homers in only 98 at-bats.
Better than that, he produced those numbers by hitting pitches all over the strike zone, so opposing pitchers don’t necessarily know where to pitch him and where not to pitch him.
Defensively, Seager doesn’t have great range for a shortstop, but has the arm necessary to make big plays at the position until he can be moved to his right at third base.
He’s likely to be an every day player, playing a premium position, on one of baseball’s best teams. There are plenty of MLB rookies that can and will make a big impact in 2016, but none are quite as important as Seager.