MLB's Top 10 Can't-Miss Pitching Prospects for the 2015 Season
Major League Baseball is being dominated by pitching, and that's only going to continue, judging by the flood of elite young arms who are on the verge of reaching The Show.
Like these 10, who represent the sport's can't-miss pitching prospects for the 2015 season.
To avoid any confusion, that means these pitchers should be making a major impact in the upcoming year.
Thus, you won't see elite arms like Lucas Giolito of the Washington Nationals, Tyler Glasnow of the Pittsburgh Pirates or Luis Severino of the New York Yankees, all of whom are a bit too far away to take the majors by storm this year. Same goes for 18-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Julio Urias.
And, as always, to qualify as prospect-eligible, these arms cannot have pitched more than 50 innings in the majors or spent more than 45 days on the active roster.
That eliminates, say, Taijuan Walker of the Seattle Mariners, who surpassed that total in his final outing of 2014, as well as Philadelphia Phillies reliever Ken Giles, who was on the big league roster from June 12 to the end of the season.
What we're looking for are elite young arms who have the right mix of talent (i.e., highly regarded prospects) and opportunity (i.e., proximity to the majors) to do something big in 2015.
Given that this list is about this coming campaign, there's slightly more emphasis on the latter of those two criteria so that it's more likely these pitchers actually will, you know, pitch in the big leagues—and make their presence felt—over the next several months.
Let the can't-miss countdown begin.
Honorable Mentions
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Next in Line to Reach the Majors
Raisel Iglesias, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
Matt Wisler, RHP, San Diego Padres
Alex Colome, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
Brandon Finnegan, LHP, Kansas City Royals
Aaron Nola, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies
Matt Barnes, RHP, Boston Red Sox
Rafael Montero, RHP, New York Mets
A.J. Cole, RHP, Washington Nationals
Nick Kingham, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Eddie Butler, RHP, Colorado Rockies
Likely Too Far Away for 2015
Jon Gray, RHP, Colorado Rockies
Jose Berrios, RHP, Minnesota Twins
Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP, Boston Red Sox
Dylan Bundy, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
Steven Matz, LHP, New York Mets
Robert Stephenson, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
Braden Shipley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Mark Appel, RHP, Houston Astros
Yoan Lopez, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 10: Henry Owens, LHP, Boston Red Sox
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Few pitching prospects had a stronger 2014 than Henry Owens, who pitched at Double- and Triple-A as a 21-year-old.
Here's a rundown of the 6'6" lefty's accomplishments from Teddy Cahill of MLB.com:
"As a followup to his breakout 2013 season, Owens delivered a sterling '14 campaign. He led the Minor Leagues in wins (17), ranked fourth in strikeouts (170) and started the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game for the U.S. team. Owens has a good feel for pitching and keeps hitters off balance with a mix of his low-90s fastball, changeup and curveball.
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While Owens doesn't project to be an ace, he does have the deception and poise to be a very good mid-rotation starter for a number of years. And with the Boston Red Sox's rotation still not entirely settled, there's a chance Owens could make 15 or more starts and put up intriguing numbers in 2015.
No. 9: Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates
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After missing all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, Jameson Taillon is ready to get back on the mound and throw, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"I feel like [an] actual baseball player again," said the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft.
Having reached Triple-A late in 2013, the hard-throwing 23-year-old Taillon would have spent part of last year in the 'Burgh were it not for the procedure, so he should be itching to make his debut. Once he shows he's healthy and his stuff has made it back, Taillon could be a nice midseason reinforcement for the Pirates on their quest to make a third straight playoff appearance.
No. 8: Marco Gonzales, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals
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Unlike the first two entries, Marco Gonzales already has set foot on a major league mound, making it to the bigs last June 25, a little more than a year after being drafted 19th overall in 2013.
Primarily a two-pitch starter, Gonzales proved his fastball-changeup combo can get big leaguers out. During 10 games (five starts) in the regular season, he struck out nearly as many batters (31) as he allowed hits (32) in his first 34.1 frames as a St. Louis Cardinal.
The club then included the soon-to-be 23-year-old lefty on the postseason roster, and Gonzales was used in some key spots out of the bullpen against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
Gonzales' role in 2015 is a bit up in the air at the moment, but he's likely to have a role in St. Louis at some point, whether as a starter or reliever.
No. 7: Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Archie Bradley entered last season looking like one of the very best pitching prospects in the game. Then elbow trouble wiped out a potential big league debut and more or less led to a lost year.
The 22-year-old, who was taken seventh overall in 2011, threw just 83 innings across 18 starts, and his power fastball and killer curve weren't up to their usually elite standards.
Health will be a big factor here, but as long as Bradley's arm is OK, chances are a kid who already has reached Triple-A and owns a 9.5 career strikeouts-per-nine rate will get a shot for an Arizona Diamondbacks team whose rotation is very much in flux.
No. 6: Carlos Rodon, LHP, Chicago White Sox
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Having turned just 22 years old in December, Carlos Rodon is a great bet to make a major impact for the Chicago White Sox before he turns 23.
Despite being drafted only last June—he went No. 3 overall—the NC State product was being considered for a September cup of coffee, as Scott Merkin of MLB.com reported.
That's because Rodon made it to Triple-A, posting a 38-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 24.1 innings along the way, thanks to his big fastball and put-away slider that many consider a big league out pitch already.
"Rodon should quickly reach Chicago," writes Cahill, "and he has the stuff, size and makeup to become a top-of-the-rotation pitcher once he does."
If both Rodon and the White Sox, who have had a very nice offseason, get off to solid starts in 2015, he'll be up and ready to form a potentially devastating front four alongside fellow southpaws Chris Sale and Jose Quintana as well as newly acquired righty Jeff Samardzija.
No. 5: Alex Meyer, RHP, Minnesota Twins
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A minor bout with shoulder soreness likely was all that kept Alex Meyer from making a September cameo with the Minnesota Twins in 2014. Provided everything checks out when the 25-year-old starts ramping up in spring training, Meyer should be spending quite a bit of time in the Twin Cities this season.
A staggeringly tall 6'9", Meyer is a monster on the mound, even more so when he's releasing his mid-90s fastball right on top of the hitter.
With a career strikeouts-per-nine rate of 10.4 over his three pro seasons, Meyer possesses the kind of profile that Minnesota desperately needs. And while there's bound to be an adjustment period because his control can come and go (3.8 career BB/9), Meyer will give the rebuilding Twins something to look forward to, coming off four straight 90-loss campaigns.
No. 4: Daniel Norris, LHP, Toronto Blue Jays
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The Toronto Blue Jays have been mentioned as a potential suitor for free agent James Shields, if the price fits, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
But if they don't land the right-hander—and it seems unlikely they'll be able to make a second big splurge after having spent $82 million on catcher Russell Martin already—the Jays could turn to Daniel Norris.
Arguably Toronto's top pitching prospect along with righty Aaron Sanchez, Norris had a dynamite 2014, pitching to a 2.53 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 11.8 K/9 across (count 'em) four levels, including five September appearances in the majors.
Depending on what happens with Shields or the Jays' possible plans to add a reliever in free agency, Norris could be in line for a big, big role for a club that has its sights set on its first postseason since 1993.
No. 3: Andrew Heaney, LHP, Los Angeles Angels
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Andrew Heaney has had a rather busy offseason, considering he's been the property of three different teams while being traded twice in the span of about a day.
The 23-year-old, who briefly reached the bigs last summer and entered the winter as the Miami Marlins' top prospect, was dealt from the Fish to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the Dee Gordon swap. But mere hours later, Heaney was sent from one L.A. club to the other for Howie Kendrick, which is how he ended up with the Angels.
That should work out just fine for the lefty, who had a 3.28 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 between Double- and Triple-A in 2014, as Heaney has an opportunity to break camp as a member of the Angels, who only had the majors' best record last year.
No. 2: Aaron Sanchez, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
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Aaron Sanchez merited a mention earlier when discussing Daniel Norris, and the reason the former ranks ahead of the latter here is because he has a more electric arm, more big league experience and a better shot to spend most of 2015 in Toronto.
That's because the 22-year-old made 24 must-see appearances out of the Jays bullpen last year, using his easy heat and nasty breaking ball to rack up 27 whiffs in 33 frames, all while allowing only 14 hits.
If Sanchez can hang onto the improvement he showed in his sometimes iffy command and control, there's a lot to like here, regardless of whether he's pitching in relief or as a starter. Either way, he's going to be fun to watch.
No. 1: Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets
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Noah Syndergaard is ranked atop this list because he satisfies the two primary qualifications: He's both an elite young arm, arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball, and more than ready for his big league close-up after spending all of 2014 at Triple-A.
At 6'6" and 240 pounds, Syndergaard is built like a front-liner and has the hard, heavy fastball to go with that profile. For his career, the 22-year-old sports a 10.0 strikeouts-per-nine rate against a 2.6 walk rate, and he's surrendered just 26 home runs in 426.2 innings.
Any pitcher who gets that many whiffs while limiting walks and homers is bound for good things, and Syndergaard should be plenty good once the pitching-rich New York Mets decide to promote him this year.
Given their recent history with young right-handed pitching prospects—Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler come to mind—the Mets could have something special in Syndergaard.
Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.
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