The MLB is introducing a new initiative for 2024, giving prospects of baseball the main stage over the course of four days in March, the 14th-17th. Each day will consist of at least two games in either Arizona or Florida, with teams showcasing their best and brightest for all to see. What’s even nicer about these games is that they’re open to everyone! If you make it a yearly trek like I do, maybe you can go and catch one of these games for yourself. I’ll be covering some of the bigger match ups, talking about some of the better prospects in the game that we may see in 2024 or later.
Reds @ Rangers 3/14/23
The Reds are very much like the Orioles in where they just recently called up a lot of young talent, and will be in the hunt for the playoffs year in and year out for the foreseeable future, and the same could be said about the Rangers. This game is going to be a must see for those who are fans of pitching, if they let the young guys do their thing for several innings.
Starting off with the Reds, you have to go with their 1st Rounder in RHP Rhett Lowder from Wake Forest. He went 7th overall in this past Draft of 2023, so he hasn’t had a chance to put up any numbers in the Minors just yet, even though he was put into the organizations High-A affiliate soon after signing with the club. You can find his Bowman 1st card in the 2023 Bowman Draft product, by the way. He, and this following name, who collectors may know better, are almost sure locks for the Reds’ roster in this game. 19-year old (as of this past November) 3B Cam Collier and Reds #5 overall prospect, another first round pick for the team, should be out in the field at the hot corner and in the batters box taking swings. Cam has had a normal start for a high school pick, playing only a handful of games at the Rookie level in 2022, then making the jump to Low-A in ’23, playing in 111 Games as a 3B/DH. He put up a slash line of .246/.349/.356 with 23 extra-base hits and nearly 60 free passes.
Moving over to the Rangers, #2 overall prospect in 2023 first rounder Wyatt Langford went directly from college to Rookie Ball, then jumped to High-A, then Double-A, and finished off in Triple-A, on the fast track to the Majors. He didn’t disappoint while he played in a total of 44 Games, covering LF, CF, and a little bit of DH. In those 44 Games, he hit .360/.480/.677 and didn’t hit lower than .333 at any of the four levels that he managed to cover in one season. He also had at least one homerun at every level except Triple-A, where he only played in 5 Games, maxing out at 5HR in High-A over 24 Games. His bat-to-ball skills are there, power, and eye as he walked more than he struck out. I don’t doubt that he’d be the starting CF for the Rangers in this showcase game, while Langford still has at least 1-2 more years of work in the Minors at the tender age of 21. Following him is a surprise pick for me in Brock Porter, a 2022 fourth round pick for the Rangers. They utterly smashed the record for the rounds highest payout when they took Kumar Rocker in the first round cheap, giving Porter $3.7MM to sign at #109 overall. They also decided to delay his pro debut until 2023, where he had 21 Starts in their Low-A affiliate, and an impressive 2.47 ERA along with 95K in just over 69IP. With his improved Slider to go with an elite Fastball and Changeup, easy and repeatable delivery, he should be up in the Majors in a few seasons. Whether that’s with the Rangers is to be seen, but for now, they can show off his stuff in March as their Starting Pitcher on the 14th.
Orioles @ Pirates 3/14/23
The Orioles easily have one of the most exciting young teams, and youngest star Minor Leaguers in 20-year old 2B/SS Jackson Holliday who just broke into Triple-A, and is expected to break camp with the big league club. Alongside him is 22-year old 3B/1B Coby Mayo at the #4 overall prospect who could be gunning for Ryan O’Hearn’s spot at 1B this upcoming season after hitting .290/.410/.563 between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023 over 140 Games. Holliday has plenty of cards in bowman products, while Mayos’ 1st Bowman can be found in 2021 Bowman. I think Coby has put his time down in the Minors, and shown he can be a productive MLB player, but maybe not right out of Spring like Jackson Holliday probably will.
With the Pittsburgh Pirates, their obvious prospects are a little less obvious, if that makes any sense. It’s easy enough to go with their #1 and #2 ranked prospects in Paul Skenes and Termarr Johnson, but there are plenty of arms littering the top 10 list. A name that some may recognize is their #5 ranked prospect in RHP Bubba Chandler, who had a 10-4 record in 2023 between Low-A and High-A, finishing with a single start at High-A, blanking his opposition over 5 innings, giving up a single hit, and grabbing eight strikeouts. Down at #15 in the system, I think Lonnie White Jr. is hiding some elite defense and speed as he legged out 16 Doubles and a Triple with 9 Homers between Rookie Ball and Low-A in 2023. With a big frame at 6’3, this may be a surprise to some, and he can play all outfield positions to top it off. The Pirates currently have two outfielders on the edge of turning 29, while Lonnie is only about to turn 21. He could be playing one of the corner outfield positions in this showcase game for the Bucs.
There are three more days worth of games and prospects that I could go on about, but I don’t think everyone wants to read an article that long.
