Lesser-Known MLB Players Who Will Have Breakthrough Years in 2017
Each season, we are treated to a handful of out-of-nowhere breakout performances from around Major League Baseball as lesser-known players become significant contributors.
Position players like Aledmys Diaz (STL), Adam Duvall (CIN), Jake Lamb (ARI), Brad Miller (TB), Trevor Story (COL) and Jonathan Villar (MIL) were good examples this past season.
As for pitchers, Kyle Hendricks (CHC) ascended several levels to emerge as a Cy Young candidate, and starters Junior Guerra (MIL), Drew Pomeranz (SD/BOS) and Dan Straily (CIN), as well as reliever Alex Colome (TB), are also worthy of mentions.
So who will break through in 2017 and go from relative unknown to household name?
Ahead is a look at seven guys worth keeping an eye on.
Josh Bell, 1B, Pittsburgh Pirates
1 of 7
2016 Stats
Player Outlook
Offseason additions John Jaso and David Freese did respectable jobs holding down the first base position for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, and both will return in 2017.
Neither figures to stand in the way of Josh Bell, though.
A top-15 talent in the 2011 draft who slipped to the second round due to signability concerns, Bell was given a $5 million bonus to forego his commitment to the University of Texas, a record for a player taken outside of the first round.
While his in-game power has been somewhat slow to develop, all the tools are present for him to be an impact, middle-of-the-order bat in Pittsburgh, and he has little left to prove in the minors.
The then-23-year-old kicked off his MLB career with a bang last July, singling in his first career plate appearance and then launching a pinch-hit grand slam in his second trip to the plate.
He returned in late August and saw semi-regular playing time down the stretch while splitting his time between first base and right field.
With 128 at-bats to his credit, he'll still be rookie-eligible heading into 2017, and with a chance to win a starting job out of camp, he belongs alongside Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson as a co-favorite to take home National League Rookie of the Year honors.
Chris Devenski, SP/RP, Houston Astros
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2016 Stats
| MLB | 48/5 | 4-4 | 5 | 2.16 | 0.91 | 20 | 104 | 108.1 |
Player Outlook
Chris Devenski may not be a proven commodity, but he's capable of being a real X-factor for the Houston Astros.
Throwing primarily out of the bullpen as a rookie last season, Devenski pitched to a 2.16 ERA and 0.91 WHIP over 108.1 innings of work to earn a fourth-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
He did make five starts along with his 43 relief appearances, posting a 4.01 ERA and 1.26 WHIP during his time in the rotation. However, those numbers were skewed by one rough outing on May 15 (2.0 IP, 5 H, 6 ER), and he pitched well in his four other starts.
With a solid four-pitch repertoire and the durability to stretch well beyond his inning total from a year ago, the Astros are set to give Devenski a long look for a rotation spot this spring.
"Devenski's going to have value for us one way or another, and he's going to be a multi-inning pitcher one way or another," general manager Jeff Luhnow told Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. "Whether it's two or five or seven (innings), that remains to be seen. It kind of depends how the rest of our rotation shakes out."
Whether he wins a starting job or finds himself in the Andrew Miller role as a multi-inning fireman, look for Devenski to be a key piece of the puzzle on an Astros team with legitimate expectations for the upcoming season.
Mitch Haniger, OF, Seattle Mariners
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2016 Stats
| AA/AAA | .321/.419/.581 | 147 | 34 | 25 | 94 | 79 | 12 | - |
| MLB | .229/.309/.404 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 0.1 |
Player Outlook
Shortstop Jean Segura was the marquee name joining the Seattle Mariners in the blockbuster deal that sent Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this offseason.
He wasn't the only potential impact player the M's acquired, though.
Outfielder Mitch Haniger was also part of that deal, and it appears he'll have a legitimate shot at winning a starting job in the Seattle outfield this spring.
"Haniger could end up being the most important player in that trade," one opposing scout told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.
The 26-year-old is a .290/.370/.490 career hitter over five minor league seasons, but he had never tallied more than 13 home runs in a year prior to launching 25 in 2016.
That uptick in power is what has taken him from mid-level organizational prospect to potential impact MLB player.
Leonys Martin should see regular at-bats in center field, and right field is shaping up to be a platoon of Seth Smith and Danny Valencia, leaving the left field job ripe for the taking if Haniger can beat out Ben Gamel for playing time.
Want a dark horse for AL Rookie of the Year honors? Look no further.
Austin Hedges, C, San Diego Padres
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2016 Stats
| AAA | .326/.353/.597 | 102 | 20 | 21 | 82 | 55 | 1 | - |
| MLB | .125/.154/.167 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -0.4 |
Player Outlook
Austin Hedges has the classic post-hype profile.
A top-five prospect in the San Diego Padres system four years running from 2012 to 2015 and the No. 27 prospect in baseball heading into the 2014 season, per Baseball America, Hedges arrived in the majors with a thud in 2015.
Always known more for his defensive prowess than his offensive game, the Padres' presumptive "catcher of the future" hit .168/.215/.248 with 38 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances in his first taste of MLB action and was promptly shipped back to Triple-A to start the 2016 campaign.
Then a crazy thing happened last summer—he started to hit.
A lot.
With Derek Norris and Christian Bethancourt holding things down at the MLB level and the team slipping out of contention early, the Padres had no reason to rush Hedges, and he wound up posting a .951 OPS over 334 plate appearances for a stacked Triple-A team in El Paso.
Now all signs point to him being the starting backstop after Norris was shipped to the Washington Nationals.
"I think I'm extremely prepared, and I think that's what this offseason's for," Hedges told Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I've been at Petco every day, been in the weight room, talked with the guys, talked with the coaches, just trying to get on the same page. Trying to establish that role so when you get into the season everybody knows who our guys are. And I hope I am that guy. I'm ready to go."
If the 24-year-old comes anywhere close to duplicating his offensive breakout in the minors, he'll immediately be one of the best all-around catchers in the game.
Nate Jones, RP, Chicago White Sox
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2016 Stats
| MLB | 71 | 5-3 | 28 | 2.29 | 0.89 | 15 | 80 | 70.2 |
Player Outlook
When a team finally decides to begin rebuilding and selling off veteran pieces, it often presents opportunities for complementary players on the roster to step into more prominent roles.
Case in point: Chicago White Sox setup man Nate Jones.
Veteran closer David Robertson is still on the roster, but the White Sox have little use for a high-priced bullpen arm, and there's no shortage of interest on the trade market.
If and when Robertson is moved, the door will swing open for Jones to step into the closer's role.
The 30-year-old is coming off a brilliant season in 2016 and has the stuff to shine in the ninth inning.
He tallied 28 holds with a 2.29 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 1.9 walks per nine innings and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings over 71 appearances last season, proving to finally be healthy after missing most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons following back surgery and Tommy John surgery.
With an average fastball velocity of 97.4 mph and a slider that opponents hit just .094 against with 66 strikeouts, per Brooks Baseball, he boasts the classic dominant two-pitch repertoire teams look for in the late innings.
A Robertson trade appears to be the lone remaining roadblock between Jones and stardom.
Jose Peraza, SS, Cincinnati Reds
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2016 Stats
| AAA | .281/.333/.375 | 81 | 15 | 2 | 21 | 40 | 10 | - |
| MLB | .324/.352/.411 | 78 | 8 | 3 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 0.1 |
Player Outlook
Ideally, the Reds would have found a way to unload second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart by now.
They have young middle infielders Dilson Herrera and Jose Peraza waiting in the wings, and neither of those veterans will be around beyond the 2017 season, let alone be part of the next contending Reds team.
Either way, expect Peraza to step into a more prominent role in 2017.
According to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, general manager Dick Williams and manager Bryan Price are both committed to giving Peraza regular playing time during the upcoming season.
The speedy 22-year-old has earned it after a stellar offensive season while bouncing around between shortstop, second base and the outfield as a rookie.
Originally a top prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization, Peraza was traded twice in 2015, eventually landing in Cincinnati as part of the three-team deal that sent Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox, prospects from the White Sox to the Dodgers and more prospects from the Dodgers to the Reds.
A one-two punch of Billy Hamilton and Peraza at the top of the lineup could be shades of Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo during their heydays with the Florida Marlins.
Matt Strahm, SP, Kansas City Royals
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2016 Stats
| AA | 22/18 | 3-8 | 3.43 | 1.22 | 23 | 107 | 102.1 |
| MLB | 21/0 | 2-2 | 1.23 | 1.09 | 11 | 30 | 22.0 |
Player Outlook
The Kansas City Royals' homegrown pipeline has run a bit dry in recent years after churning out the likes of Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera and Yordano Ventura, among others.
One name worth keeping an eye on is left-hander Matt Strahm.
A 21st-round pick in 2012, Strahm entered last season as the team's No. 8 prospect, according to Baseball America, and he quickly established himself as the team's top pitching prospect with a strong start in Double-A.
With the MLB bullpen in need of a reliable left-hander, Strahm made his debut on July 31 and wound up settling into a prominent spot in the pen with a 1.23 ERA and 12.3 K/9 over 21 appearances while tallying six holds.
Even as he was thriving out of the bullpen, the plan was always to return him to a starting role, with Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reporting in August that Strahm would be competing for a rotation spot this coming spring.
For the record, Strahm doesn't seem to have a preference one way or the other regarding his role, as long as he's helping the team.
"I'll just pitch where they need me to pitch," Strahm told Dodd. "I like them both, so whichever one they see me helping the club with more."
In a rotation full of question marks behind Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy, Strahm will have a chance to emerge as a key piece of the present and future for a Royals team at a crossroads.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com unless otherwise noted.
