Is MLB's Next Crop of Elite Young Power Hitters About to Arrive?

If you’re a fan of young power pitching, then you’ve had your fill—and then some—over the past few seasons of Major League Baseball, during which time aces in their mid-20s (or younger) such as Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Chris Sale and Jose Fernandez have broken into the bigs and established themselves as elite arms.

And don’t worry: Plenty more are on the way, especially considering how pitching-dominated the sport has become in recent years.

To wit, there were 4,186 total home runs hit in the 2014 campaign, the fewest in a full season since 1993 (4,081), when there still were only 28 teams instead of the 30 we have today.

On a per-game basis, there were just 0.86 four-baggers hit last season, which is the fewest on average since 1992 (0.72). It also marked the last time the league-wide slugging percentage was lower than 2014's .386 (.377).

There’s clearly more than enough to admire on the mound, but it’s about time for the next wave of up-and-coming power bats to make their mark on the majors, too. After all, there needs to be some offense, right?

Baseball, it seems, is starving for sluggers. It’s a good thing, then, that plenty of highly regarded prospects will soon be stepping up to the plate in the big leagues.

In fact, some already have, including outfielder George Springer of the Houston Astros and infielder Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs.

Admittedly, both 2014 rookies have serious swing-and-miss issues, with Springer whiffing 33.0 percent of the time and Baez checking in with a ghastly 41.5 percent strikeout rate.

But those two also have immense, game-changing, outfielders-don’t-even-need-to-bother-moving power.

While the 22-year-old Baez bashed nine homers in his first 52 games, Springer smashed 20 long balls in just 345 plate appearances last season, and the 25-year-old hit seven in one particularly torrid seven-game stretch in late May.

Outside of those two youngsters, there’s a whole heap of hard hitters heading here.

Some of the most prominent sluggers who remain prospect-eligible at the moment? Kris Bryant, Joey Gallo, Miguel Sano, Jorge Soler, D.J. Peterson, Hunter Renfroe, Aaron Judge, Alex Jackson, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Olson and Steven Moya, among others.

Of that batch, the only players with actual MLB experience are Soler, who started his big league career off with a bang, going 26-for-89 (.292) with five home runs among 14 extra-base hits in 24 games after debuting last Aug. 27, and Moya, who managed to get all of eight plate appearances last September.

On the flip side, only Judge, Olson, Schwarber and Jackson—the latter two of whom were first-rounders last June—haven’t yet reached Double-A. In other words, there’s a nice collection of names who are right on the verge of potentially taking the big leagues by storm.

While all of the above represent the most prodigious pop among prospects, those first three may be in a class of their own.

In his first full season since being selected No. 2 overall in 2013, Bryant put 43 over the fence—most among all hitters between the majors and minors—while splitting his season between Double-A (22 homers) and Triple-A (21).

And oh yeah, Gallo’s 42 home runs marked his second consecutive 40-homer campaign, after he led the minors with 40 in 2013.

As for Sano, after smacking 35 home runs across High- and Double-A in 2013, he possessed arguably the most oomph of all minor leaguers entering 2014. Alas, Tommy John surgery cost him all of last year, but he’s ready to get back to bashing in 2015.

Bryant will play most, if not all, of this year for the Cubs, who might decide to hold him back from Chicago for a few weeks, if only to keep him under team control through 2021 instead of 2020.

"The most impressive thing about [Bryant's 2014] season [was] the consistency," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said via Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. "He deserves a lot of credit for being able to make adjustments quickly. He’s very levelheaded as a person, so I don’t think he gets too down."

Gallo and Sano, on the other hand, both need a little more marinating, but each could reach the majors by midseason if they start and stay strong.

That's three among many who are ready—or just about ready—to join the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Abreu and Anthony Rizzo, a trio of the best sluggers in the majors who also are still very much in the nascent stages of their MLB careers.

Speaking of Abreu, there’s also his fellow countryman Yasmany Tomas. After signing a $68.5 million contract at age 24, Tomas is looking to become MLB’s next Cuban sensation, thanks to his primary tool— you guessed it—power.

So is this crop ready to bring some pop back to baseball?

Let's not forget that a lot can happen between even the high minors and the majors. And that there have been previous instances of slugging prospects who teased with their power in A-ball, Double-A or Triple-A, only to disappoint once in The Show.

Just look at the 2012 minor league home run leaderboard and you'll see Darin Ruf and Wil Myers at the top with 38 and 37 homers, respectively. While Ruf has been a fringy big leaguer the past two years, Myers at least won AL Rookie of the Year in 2013 but then suffered through injuries and inconsistency on his way to a .222/.294/.320 line prior to being traded for the second time in his still-young career last month.

The upcoming crop of young power-hitting prospects certainly has their work cut out for them in this pitching-dominated era. But it's a good guess that more than one of these big bats will not only pan out but also perform up to (or at least close to) expectations, even if those are sky-high as is.

Which ones will pull that off and at what point in their big league careers, though, is where it becomes a guessing game—albeit a fun one.

As for having all of these young long-ball hitters reach their peaks together, well, that's just a long shot.

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.