Baseball’s number one prospect, Wander Franco, made his major league debut on Tuesday with the Rays.
Assuming Franco remains in the Tampa Bay lineup – and there is nothing to indicate otherwise – a question arises: Who will be next?
Not who will be the next prospect to debut in the majors, but who will be the heir to the throne of the number one, a position that has belonged to Franco since he took the baton from Dominican Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the middle of the 2019 season.
If Franco stays healthy and does not return to the minors, he will earn the time of service (45 days active on the roster) necessary to “graduate” as a prospect sometime in August or if he reaches 130 at-bats, whichever occurs. First. Who is in line to replace the Quisqueyano when that moment arrives? Here, five candidates:
1. Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles: This is the obvious choice, given the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 Draft is currently the No. 2 prospect behind Franco. After a bit of a slow start (He was hitting .205 / .407 / .455 on May 18), he’s now performing like a top prospect, bringing his season line in Double-A up to .293 / .430 / .531 with 10 homers and as many walks as strikeouts.
2. Spencer Torkelson, 3B / 1B, Tigers: Today’s third-best prospect followed Rutschman as the top pick of the 2020 amateur draft, so he’s finally playing professional baseball. Like Rutschman, Tork started slow, hitting .180 / .368 / .220 at the end of his May 20 game. Now he’s hitting .301 / .413 / .573. He is considered a generational hitter.
3. Julio Rodríguez, OF, Mariners: Yes, I’m skipping Jarred Kelenic, who is currently above J-Rod on the Top 100 list, mainly because I think Kelenic will have graduated as a prospect by the time Franco does as well. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is proving he deserves a promotion to Double-A, after hitting .325 / .410 / .581 in his 20s in Class-A Strong. He’s on par with his career numbers of .322 / .398 / .542.
4. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals: Witt, who was selected in the second place in the amateur draft behind Rutschman in 2019, showed that it should not take long to reach the major leagues, after what was done in the preseason with the Royals, who considered including him on the roster of the Opening Day. He just turned 21 and is currently the seventh best prospect on the Top 100 list. He is in his first full Double-A season. Not only is he hitting .275 / .346 / .539, but he already has 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 41 games.
5. CJ Abrams, SS, Parents: It’s hard not to get excited envisioning Abrams and Witt battling at shortstop for years to come. Abrams (currently the number eight prospect) was chosen four spots after Witt in the 2019 amateur draft and also jumped to Double-A in his first full season. Barely 20 years old, he has hit .304 / .367 / .432 so far this season, with 10 steals on base, and follows Witt in the power department. Also, he has a low strikeout rate.
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