MLB Futures Game 2023: Top Storylines and Prospects to Know

Jackson Holliday was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft.

Twelve months later, he is the top prospect in baseball and the headliner of the 2023 MLB Futures Game.

Holliday leads the American League prospects against the National League on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, Peacock) in one of the first events of All-Star weekend in Seattle.

Pitchers will likely last just one inning in the seven-inning exhibition format, so the top names to watch are mostly hitters.

Holliday and others are looking to join Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber, Joey Gallo and Yoan Moncada as Futures Game MVPs.

Some of the Futures Game participants could be in the majors by the end of the season.

Corbin Carroll, Shea Langeliers, Jordan Walker, Elly De La Cruz, Anthony Volpe and Gunnar Henderson all participated in last year's event.

Top Storylines

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 24, 2023: Jackson Chourio #94 of the Milwaukee Brewers bats during the seventh inning of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on March 24, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

The Futures Game is a condensed exhibition game that recently changed formats.

The American vs. National format was brought to the event in 2021. That ended the United States vs. World matchup that was in place since the Futures Game began in 1999.

The National League won the 2021 event, while the American League won in 2022. Both games produced over 10 runs.

The star hitting prospects will be on the field longer than the best young arms in minor league baseball.

Fans should expect to see one pitcher per inning, and there may be instances in which the managers split up innings to get as many hurlers into the game as possible.

Holliday and the other top hitters should get at least two at-bats if they start. The reserves could just get a few innings in the field, or one at-bat to showcase their talents.

There should be plenty of offense regardless of who is on the field. The Futures Game has had at least 10 runs in six of the last seven All-Star weekends.

Jackson Holliday, SS, Baltimore

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SARASOTA, FLORIDA - MARCH 21, 2023: Jackson Holliday #87 of the Baltimore Orioles looks on during a minor league spring training game against the Atlanta Braves at the Buck ONeil Baseball Complex on March 21, 2023 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

Holliday has been fantastic in his first full minor league season.

MLB.com's No. 1 overall prospect comes into Seattle with a .331 batting average and .989 OPS across two levels.

Holliday only spent 57 games at Low-A Aberdeen before he earned a promotion to High-A Delmarva.

At Aberdeen, Holliday produced a .314 average, .940 OPS, five home runs, 35 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.

He had a seamless transition to the next level, as he totaled two home runs, 16 RBI, 21 hits and three stolen bases in 14 games with Delmarva.

Holliday needs at least another year in the minors before he makes it to Baltimore, but his progress in such a short amount of time is stunning.

He will be the marquee attraction of the Futures Game. A few successful at-bats, or one or two great plays in the field will further add to the hype around last year's top draft pick.

Jackson Chourio, OF, Milwaukee

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 24, 2023: Jackson Chourio #94 of the Milwaukee Brewers fields a fly ball during the seventh inning of a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on March 24, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

Jackson Chourio is the highest-ranked prospect who is closest to the majors.

The Milwaukee Brewers' top minor-league player has 11 home runs and 50 RBI for Double-A Biloxi this season.

The Athletic's Jim Bowden, a former MLB general manager, had nothing but praise for Chourio's skill set in his Futures Game preview.

"Chourio is a line-drive machine who has ridiculous exit velocity, electric bat speed and special barrel awareness," Bowden wrote. "He has plus power and plus-plus speed (23 steals in 26 attempts). He's an excellent base runner with elite instincts and timing. I love his power/speed combination."

Chourio will be the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball when the season ends because Elly De La Cruz will graduate from that list this summer.

He is the top bat on the National League squad, and the goal should be for him to advance to Triple-A before the end of 2023, so he is in a great spot to challenge for the big-league roster in Spring Training.

Kyle Harrison, LHP, San Francisco

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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 01, 2023: Kyle Harrison #86 of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch during the sixth inning of a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium on March 1, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

Kyle Harrison is the top-rated pitching prospect on the Futures Game rosters.

Harrison is MLB's No. 13 overall prospect, and No. 4 pitcher. Bobby Miller and Gavin Williams are both in the majors, while Andrew Painter has been injured for most of the season.

Harrison produced 92 strikeouts in 56.1 innings for Triple-A Sacramento. He had 186 punchouts across two levels in 2022.

The left-handed hurler would only pitch an inning, if he toes the rubber in Seattle, so that both managers can maximize their rosters.

Harrison could be in contention for a 2023 call-up, but he has to lower his ERA in the second half of the season.

He has a 4.79 ERA and a 2.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio, both of which are worse totals than his star campaign in 2022 that shot him up to the Triple-A level.