MLB.com is announcing a ranking of prospects by position, one of the representative contents of the offseason. Following left-handed and right-handed pitchers, catchers were introduced, and first to third basemen also appeared in turn. On the 25th (Korean time), the shortstop rankings were announced. Catcher Francisco Alvarez (New York Mets) and first baseman Triston Casas (Boston Red Sox) are already familiar to Korean MLB fans. 

In the Major League (MLB), there are many cases in which top-notch prospects who are called up quickly settle into the big leagues or become top-notch players after their debut. Their debut game is announced in advance, and the match result is also attracting attention. If you’re a fan, this is pretty interesting content. 

On the 25th, MLB.com looked back on the top 10 best prospects released at this time in 2018, five years ago, and pointed out how well their prospects matched the present. Many of those who were on the list of prospects in 2018 have risen to superstars. 

The representative player is Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), who was rated as the No. 1 player. At the time, MLB.com said, “Scouts commonly see that it is more advantageous for Ohtani to perform pitching duties. But he is a player who can become a star as a hitter.”  카지노

Ohtani became one of the best two-hitters in history. From his debut season (2018), he hit 22 homers and became the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year, starting 10 games. During the 2019 season, he missed a single game as a pitcher due to arm surgery. Even as a hitter, he only had a batting average of 0.286 and 18 homers. However, in the 2021 season, he recorded 46 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 103 points, and as a pitcher, he played 23 games and recorded an ERA of 3.18, becoming the MVP of the season. 

Also in the 2022 season, he hit 34 home runs as a batter, and had 15 wins and an earned run average of 2.33 as a pitcher. He became the first player to fill both regulation at bats and regulation innings. He was also the first to achieve double-digit multiplier and 30 homers at the same time. At the time of 2018, MLB.com’s prospects for Ohtani seemed too positive and generous, but the player showed more than that. 

Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves), who was second at the time, also became the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year in his debut season (2018). Currently, he is the main hitter for Atlanta. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), who was third, also led the AL in this category with 48 home runs last season. Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres), who was in 8th place, hit 42 homers in the 2021 season and came in third in the NL MVP voting. However, it was revealed last year that he had taken a banned substance. 

Illroy Jimenez, who was in fourth place, has also grown steadily since his debut in the 2019 season. However, the strong impact left by hitting 31 homers in his debut season was not there in the second to fourth years. Glaber Torres (New York Yankees), who was ranked 5th, was selected as an AL All-Star twice, alternating between second baseman and shortstop. However, star quality is not highly evaluated. 

Nick Senzel (Cincinnati Reds), who was ranked 7th, also failed to become a Class A player due to injuries and position changes, and Victor Noble, who was ranked 6th, contributed to his team (Washington Nationals) winning the World Series in the 2019 season, but fell into batting trouble afterwards. . Pitcher Michael Kopek, who was ranked 10th, made a full-time start (25 games) for the first time in the 2022 season, which was the fifth year of his debut. He went 5-9 with a 3.54 earned run average. Pitcher Forest Wheatley (Houston Astros), who was ranked 9th, has yet to debut in the big leagues due to injuries such as receiving Tommy John surgery.