10 Players Who Will Be the Next Faces of Baseball

Which players are in the next wave of stars in Major League Baseball?

I recently took a look at each team’s future face without restrictions as to when the player may make it to the majors—if they hadn’t already. Byron Buxton, for example, will surely be the face of the Twins in the next few years, but likely won’t major his major league debut for at least another couple of seasons.

Here, we’re going to be looking at the guys who will be household names by the end of next season. For a player to be considered here, they had to be eligible to win the Rookie of the Year Award this season or in the future—meaning prospects who have yet to make their debuts, but likely will by next spring.

These players each have All-Star potential and should be among the game’s best in just a short period of time. So, here’s a look at the 10 players who you should get acclimated with because they’re going to be big-time stars before you know it.

All statistics in this article were obtained via FanGraphs unless otherwise noted and are current through August 11. All injury information was obtained via Baseball Prospectus and all contract information was obtained via Cot’s Contracts.

Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals

Shelby Miller is right in the mix to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award this season. He’s having a solid year for the Cardinals this season and will likely be one of the reasons they make the postseason. Without him in the rotation, St. Louis might not even be close to clinching a berth.

Through 22 starts this season, Miller is 11-7 with a 2.89 ERA. In 121.1 innings of work, the righty is averaging 9.79 strikeouts and 2.60 walks per nine innings. His stuff is very tough to hit and he rarely gives out free passes. What’s great about him is that he’s bound to get better with experience too.

The Cardinals already have an ace in Adam Wainwright, but Miller is making the case as one of the best No. 2 pitches in the league. If he can continue to pitch like he has this season, it’s only a matter of time before we’re deeming him an ace as well. This kid has a bright future ahead of him.

Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins

The Marlins have finally found a starting pitcher who can compete with the best pitchers in baseball. José Fernández was one of the top prospects within the organization entering this season, and the righty has made a smooth transition to the majors. That certainly bodes well for the future of the franchise.

Through 22 starts this season, Fernandez is 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA. He’s averaging 9.70 strikeouts and 3.19 walks per nine innings of work. He’s arguably the front-runner for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Sadly, he hasn’t been pitching very meaningful baseball, and likely won’t for the next few seasons.

While Fernández is going to be the team’s No. 1 for the foreseeable future, the Marlins still need to get him some additional help. He can’t pitch this team to the playoffs alone.

He’s already a star with Miami and could soon be deemed an ace, but it won’t mean too much if he isn’t on a somewhat respectable ball club.

Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers

You can’t talk about the future without at least mentioning Yasiel Puig. This guy has helped turn the Dodgers all the way round. Los Angeles didn’t seem to have a pulse a few months ago, and now it’s one of the top teams in baseball and one of the favorites to win the World Series. Puig deserves some of the credit.

For those who don’t remember, Puig hit .436/.467/.713 with seven home runs, 16 RBI and 19 runs in his first month in the majors. He hasn’t hit at that rate since, but did anyone really expect him to? Through 60 games this season, he’s batting .376/.442/.598 with 11 home runs, 26 RBI and 45 runs.

The Dodgers would not be in first place in the National League West if they had never promoted Puig.

He’s been the catalyst ever since getting the call and should help Los Angeles make a deep run in the postseason. There’s no question he’s going to be a star in game for many years to come.

Nick Castellanos, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers already have one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball, and in it’s about to get a lot better. Detroit has been using Andy Dirks and company in left field throughout most of the year. While that’s been fine to this point, the production at the position could improve by promoting Nick Castellanos.

Castellanos is the top prospect in Detroit’s organization as well as one of the best in baseball. The outfielder, who can also play a little bit of third base, is hitting .278/.351/.438 with 13 home runs, 64 RBI and 73 runs through 118 games in Triple-A this season. He’s also walked 10 percent of the time.

Castellanos would be a nice player to have on the postseason roster, but the Tigers will need to bring him up in the next couple of weeks to make him eligible. He could be one of the impact players Detroit uses to get back to the World Series. He may only be 21 years old, but he has a ton of potential.

Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves

It's not by chance that The Braves have been as good as they have this season. A lot of it has to do with strong pitching.

Julio Teherán used to be one of the best prospects in baseball and he’s finally getting a real shot in the big leagues with Atlanta. Without him in the rotation, the Braves might not have a huge lead in the NL East.

Through 22 starts this season, Teherán is 9-5 with a 2.96 ERA. He’s pitched in 137 innings and is averaging 7.95 strikeouts and 1.97 walks per nine innings. Opponents are only hitting .248 off of him throughout the season. He will definitely be one of the guys in Atlanta’s postseason starting rotation.

But what does the future hold for Teherán? Well, he’s already proved that he can be a great pitcher in the National League. He has the potential to improve as time goes on too. There’s a strong chance he contends for the NL Rookie of the Year Award this season and is the ace of the staff by the time spring training rolls around.

Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays

The American Rookie of the Year crown is Wil Myers’ to lose. While there isn’t much competition for the award in the Junior Circuit, Myers has been everything that the Rays could have hoped for and then some. Tampa Bay acquired the outfielder this past offseason in a deal that sent James Shields to the Royals.

Myers was one of the best prospects in baseball at the time of the trade. Tampa Bay Rays let him hit in the minors for the first chunk of the season, but promoted him in mid-June. He’s been with the club ever since and has been hitting the lights out. Through 44 games, he’s batting .325/.376/.509 with eight homers and 31 RBI.

Sure, Myers’ performance thus far doesn’t present us with a huge sample size, but from what he’s been doing he doesn’t seem like a fluke. Both he and Evan Longoria are going to be one of the top tandems in baseball in the next few years, and the Rays are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with because of that.

Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox

There isn’t a spot on the roster for Xander Bogaerts at the moment, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him called up by the end of the month. Boston need to make sure that he’s eligible for the postseason in the scenario where either Stephen Drew or Will Middlebrooks gets injured—or starts to slump.

Bogaerts arguably should’ve been promoted already this season. Through 110 games, he’s hitting .298/.389/.480 with 43 extra-base hits—14 being home runs—64 RBI and 65 runs. He’s been very impressive throughout his time in the minors and is bound to be a star with the Red Sox within the next year or so.

The case to be made for a 2013 promotion is that Middlebrooks hasn’t done much of anything for Boston this season. He was recently playing alongside Bogaerts in Triple-A. In 55 games with the Red Sox he’s hitting .200/.238/.390. Even though Bogaerts hasn’t been promoted yet, he definitely will soon.

Taijuan Walker, Seattle Mariners

The Mariners have been promoting a lot of their top prospects this season to see if they could help the team’s hopes of contending for a playoff spot. It appears that Seattle isn’t going to be playing postseason baseball this season, but that doesn’t mean that we definitely won’t be seeing Taijuan Walker in the near future.

Walker is one of the best young righties you’ll find in the minors. Once he gets promoted by the Mariners—which could come before the end of this season—you’ll see what I’m talking about. He has fantastic stuff that is sure to confuse big league hitters. In truth, he is bound to be one of the best pitchers in baseball in a short period of time.

Walker has only made eight starts in Triple-A, but has still pitched well. He’s 3-2 and currently has a 3.73 ERA in 41 innings of work. He’s averaging 8.78 strikeouts per nine innings, but is also walking an average of 3.73 per nine innings. He just needs to improve his command a tad, and then he’ll be ready for a major promotion.

Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have a couple of top pitching prospects, but Gerrit Cole stands out as the crème of the crop. That’s probably why Pittsburgh promoted him a few weeks ago and has kept him in the rotation ever since. He quickly rose through the organization’s system, basically forcing Pittsburgh to promote him.

Through 11 starts in the majors this season, Cole is 5-5 with a 3.95 ERA through 66 innings of work. He’s averaging 6.41 strikeouts and 2.05 walks per nine innings. While his strikeout rate isn’t very high, Pittsburgh has to enjoy the fact that he hasn’t been issuing many free passes each time he steps on the mound.

Unless something ridiculous happens, the Pirates are going to be in the postseason this year, and the club is going to rely on strong pitching to take it to a World Series title.

Cole will have a ton of pressure on his shoulders to succeed, but he wasn’t a top prospect for nothing. Expect him to pitch well with the spotlight on him.

Oscar Tavares, St. Louis Cardinals

Oscar Tavares is arguably the top minor league prospect in baseball right now. He has great power and looks to be one of the best outfielders in the game once the Cardinals eventually promote him. He’s currently on the disabled list in the minors at the moment, but could see time in St. Louis in the coming weeks.

The Cardinals are in the middle of a tight playoff race and could use Tavares to give the club a boost. St. Louis would be wise to promote him sooner rather than later so he can be on the playoff roster if it needs him. By the way the 21-year-old has been hitting in the minors this season, he definitely wouldn’t disappoint.

Through 46 games with Triple-A Memphis, Tavares is hitting .306/.341/.462 with five home runs and 32 RBI. If the Cardinals decide to keep him in the minors throughout the remainder of 2013, there’s no question he’ll be with the big league club by the start of 2014 since Carlos Beltran will soon be a free agent.