10 MLB Prospects Who Will Make an Impact in 2012

While many teams are wheeling and dealing to improve their clubs, other general managers are focusing on their top prospects and figuring out how they will help their respective teams in the coming season.

Prospect players are never close to a guarantee like a proven MLB player, but everyone has to start somewhere. You never know, that guy you are bringing up could be the next Albert Pujols or Roy Halladay. 

There are many teams that are ready to bring up some young talent this season, so don't be surprised if you see these 10 guys take the field in 2012.

Brett Jackson

The Chicago Cubs are going through a major rebuild, but they have one prospect that fans have been just waiting to see take the field. That would be outfielder Brett Jackson, and no time seems better than now for him to come up to the major league level.

With Kosuke Fukudome out of the picture, the Cubs are going to start to develop their outfield of the future. While guys like Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd will continue to occupy the roster with their impact on the payroll, it will be Jackson who will come and take over for them.

This past season, Jackson batted .297 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI in 48 games at triple-A Iowa. He may not make the jump on opening day, but he should be up around the All-Star break.

David DeJesus, who signed on with the club during this past offseason, will likely find some permanent time in the outfield. All three will be expendable if Jackson can come through big.

Yonder Alonso

The San Diego Padres made a big move this offseason, trading young pitcher Mat Latos for a package that included first baseman Yonder Alonso. 

After giving up so much, it would seem unlikely that the Padres wouldn't bring him up to help out immediately. They do have Anthony Rizzo ready to go, but it appears that he has become expendable with the addition of Alonso.

In 2011, Alonso hit .330 with five home runs and 15 RBI through 47 games. While he did have a nice sample size for a batting average at the major league level, he still remains to be tested over an entire season.

If he continues to hit anything like he did, he should do just fine in San Diego.

Jesus Montero

With Jorge Posada out of the picture, it looks as if catcher Jesus Montero is finally going to get his shot with the New York Yankees.

Montero is one of the top prospects, and many believe he is ready to take over the reigns behind the plate. 

In 18 games with the Yankees last season, he managed to bat .328 while knocking four out of the park with 12 RBI. 

The Yankees are going to have to hope that he will be able to fill the void that has been left open with the departure of Posada. If he can hit at the rate he was, there is no doubt that Montero will be just another huge threat to what the Yankees already have.

Casey Kelly

The San Diego Padres have a lot of young prospects that could be ready to come up this season. One of those is pitcher Casey Kelly, who is regarded as one of the best pitching prospects in the country.

Kelly hasn't been given a shot at the major league level, but he has looked good in the minors.

At double-A last year, Kelly had a record of 11-6 with an ERA of 3.98. While the Padres would like to see his numbers in that department drop, his 105 strike outs in 142 innings weren't terrible.

Kelly will likely start out in the minors this season, but he will be ready to make his move to the majors at some point soon.

Matt Moore

The Tampa Bay Rays are banking on pitcher Matt Moore to come up huge for them this season. Regarded as perhaps the best pitching prospect in MLB, Moore has shown that he is ready to take the next step.

Last season, he made brief appearances at both the AAA and MLB levels. In triple-A, Moore went 4-0 in nine starts with an ERA of 1.97. To top that, he also had 79 strikeouts in just 52.2 innings.

In a brief appearance with the Rays, he showed fans what they can expect from him in the future. 

In 9.1 innings, Moore struck out 15 batters in just three games. While he didn't get a start, fans can expect to see him making batters whiff this coming season.

Reese Havens

Reese Havens just may be in luck with Jose Reyes taking his talents to South Beach this winter.

The New York Mets now have an opening at shortstop, and they may just decide to give Havens a shot at taking on the opening.

Havens put up respectable numbers this past season at double-A, batting .289 in 58 games. While it remains to be seen if he will be on the opening day roster, Havens will like get his shot this year at spring training.

If he can impress, he may just find himself a job.

Anthony Rizzo

The San Diego Padres have quite a controversy on their hands. With their acquirement of first baseman Yonder Alonso, they now have a bit of a position battle at first base. The more likely scenario is that Anthony Rizzo is now expendable, and the team will look to move him.

Rizzo's name has been linked to potentially the Chicago Cubs, a deal that would land them the Padres pitcher Matt Garza. If Rizzo were to be dealt to Chicago, he would likely find himself to be the opening day starter. If he isn't moved, well than he may not be as impacting as one may have thought.

This will be an interesting situation to follow. The Padres definitely have some young depth, but they have a situation that they need to sort out soon.

Julio Teheran

The Atlanta Braves have a stud in the making in their minor league system named Julio Teheran, and he is ready to come in and make some noise.

Last year in triple-A, Teheran went 15-3 in 24 starts. He was lights out, having an ERA of 2.55 and 122 strikeouts in 144.2 innings.

There is no doubt that Teheran will make the jump this season. When he does, batters watch out because this guy is going to be tough.

Yu Darvish

Yes, Yu Darvish is technically a prospect. The 25-year-old Japanese stud will be making his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers, and there is no reason to doubt what he can do.

In Japan, Darvish has a career record of 93-38 with an ERA of 1.99. The half Japanese, half Iranian product has just been ridiculous over his career. The Rangers will have to hope that they struck gold with this major addition, otherwise they will really regret the loss of pitcher CJ Wilson.

Darvish is following in the steps of former Japanese pitching phenom Daisuke Matsuzaka. In Dice-K's first season with the Boston Red Sox, he went 15-12 with a 4.80 ERA. He bounced back in an even bigger way in his second season, going 18-3 while having an ERA of 2.90.

People expect Davish to be even better. Scary thought, huh?

Bryce Harper

The Washington Nationals haven't been shy to hurry studs up to the Major League level, as they did with pitcher Stephen Strasburg, so fans should be shocked to see them call up catcher Bryce Harper to help this team find success in 2012.

Harper just finished his first season in the minor leagues, but he did pretty well. In 109 games combined between single-A and double-A, he managed to bat .297 with 115 hits. At this point, many may believe that Harper still has a lot of work to do.

If he has a strong spring, he may just find himself on the roster on opening day.