10 Up-and-Coming MLB Players Set to Become Superstars in 2020
Nobody should need to be told that guys like Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom are going to own the 2020 Major League Baseball season.
Instead, let's put the spotlight on some up-and-comers.
We've rounded up 10 young players who we think could become superstars this season. The list is evenly split between five prospects who are seemingly this close to catching fire in the majors and five players who are already established.
For the latter group, we excluded All-Stars, major award winners, postseason heroes and certain guys (i.e., Rafael Devers and Jack Flaherty) who have likely already explored the peaks of their talent.
We'll start with the prospects and proceed roughly in order from least surefire star to most surefire star.
Dylan Carlson, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
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Rather than go all-out to fix an offense that routinely failed them in 2019, the St. Louis Cardinals have spent the winter pinching pennies.
This strategy has cost them outfielder Marcell Ozuna, who took 29 home runs with him when he signed with the Atlanta Braves in January. Barring any late additions, the Cardinals are therefore set to trust their incumbents to realize an offensive improvement in 2020.
Dylan Carlson isn't yet part of St. Louis' 26-man roster, but that could change in a hurry if the 21-year-old outfielder picks up where he left off in 2019. In 126 games at Double-A and Triple-A, he compiled a .914 OPS, 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He's now the No. 17 prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.
Though he was known as a quality hitter before last season, Carlson hadn't exhibited much power in his first three minor league seasons. He changed that by cutting down his ground-ball rate and ultimately raising his slugging percentage by 152 points relative to 2018.
With a hot enough spring, Carlson might force the Cardinals to make him their everyday left fielder. If so, he would immediately become a candidate for the National League Rookie of the Year.
Jo Adell, OF, Los Angeles Angels
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The Los Angeles Angels haven't added a new right fielder since they declined Kole Calhoun's option for 2020 in November. That could be perceived as a sign of neglect.
Or, it's a sign that they don't want anyone standing in Jo Adell's way.
Granted, the 20-year-old outfielder has been sidelined by injuries more frequently than the Angels would prefer. He played in only 76 minor league games last season, including just 27 at Triple-A.
And yet praise for Adell is universal. He's ranked as baseball's No. 6 prospect by MLB.com, and even as the sport's second-best prospect by Baseball Prospectus. That gets at how his upside goes well beyond the relatively modest numbers—i.e., an .834 OPS, 10 homers and seven steals—he posted last season.
"He's a five-tool player—he hits for average and power, he can run, field and throw," Angels general manager Billy Eppler told Mike DiGiovanna of Baseball America in August 2019. "As far as athleticism and power, his size, speed and strength—the trifecta that we look for—he checks all of those boxes. His play will let us know what his timetable is."
If the Angels are really serious about contending this season, they'll promote Adell sooner rather than later and let him make a run at the American League Rookie of the Year.
Jesus Luzardo, LHP, Oakland Athletics
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Enough about elite prospects who might have jobs in the majors before long. Let's shift to three elite prospects who already have jobs, starting with Jesus Luzardo.
The 22-year-old is slated to fill one of the rotation spots vacated by the three starters who have left the Oakland Athletics via free agency: Brett Anderson, Tanner Roark and Homer Bailey.
Had things gone differently, Luzardo likely would have already had his coming-out party by now. By dominating in spring training last year, he opened plenty of eyes and seemed to give the A's little choice but to put him on their Opening Day roster. Alas, he promptly had to be shut down with a shoulder injury.
When Luzardo did pitch last season, he continued to carve through minor league hitters with a 2.51 ERA, 57 strikeouts and only eight walks in 43 innings. By the end of the year, he was flashing 99 mph heat and a sharp slider out of Oakland's bullpen.
Because he also features a devastating changeup and excellent control of everything he throws, it's little wonder that Luzardo ranks as highly as MLB's No. 9 prospect at Baseball Prospectus. Health permitting, he's ready to be an AL Rookie of the Year contender.
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Luis Robert, OF, Chicago White Sox
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How confident are the Chicago White Sox that Luis Robert is ready to be their everyday center fielder? Evidently, confident enough to make a $50 million bet on it.
That's how much Robert, 22, is guaranteed over the next six years after signing a contract extension in January. He could earn as much as $88 million by way of club options for 2026 and 2027. Either way, he's looking at record-setting payouts for a player who has yet to even make his major league debut.
Then again, Robert has been playing professionally since he joined the Cuban National Series as a mere 15-year-old in 2013. He's also coming into 2020 on a humongous high after breaking out with a 1.001 OPS, 32 homers and 36 steals in the minors last season.
Because he struck out 101 more times than he walked in 122 games last season, there are questions about how Robert's free-swinging approach will translate to the majors. But those didn't get in the way of MLB.com ranking him as the league's No. 3 prospect, which speaks to the sheer quality of all five of his tools.
Through those, Robert can get going on a career as a perennial All-Star.
Gavin Lux, 2B, Los Angeles Dodgers
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As amazing as Luis Robert was in 2019, he wasn't good enough to beat out Gavin Lux for Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year.
Lux, 22, hit .347 with a 1.028 OPS and 26 home runs in 113 games. It's notable that he did his best work at Triple-A, where he slashed .392/.478/.719 with 13 homers in only 49 games.
When the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Lux in the first round of the 2016 draft, he was an advanced hitter who had seemingly limited power potential. Yet he's since added bulk to his 6'2" frame, and he's steadily progressed from zero home runs in '16 to a total of 28 between the minors and majors last season.
Throw in how Lux is also an above-average runner who struck out only 102 times in the minors last season, and his status as MLB.com's No. 2 prospect is clearly well-deserved.
Though Lux is a natural shortstop, the Dodgers have made sure he's gotten work at second base in deference to Corey Seager. That's where he's slated to play in 2020, which could end with him becoming the latest Dodger to win the NL Rookie of the Year.
Chris Paddack, RHP, San Diego Padres
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The San Diego Padres have a bunch of young players who are worth watching, and arguably none more so than electrifying shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.
But despite the other-worldly numbers—i.e., a .969 OPS, 22 homers, 16 steals and 4.2 rWAR in only 84 games—that Tatis put up as a rookie last year, we have doubts. It's hard to be any better than that, for one. For two, his underlying metrics were surprisingly weak.
Chris Paddack, on the other hand, almost certainly hasn't peaked yet.
The 24-year-old was a hell of a feel-good story in 2019, as he earned a spot in San Diego's Opening Day rotation with a hot spring and eventually made good with a 3.33 ERA and 4.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 26 starts. At the least, he should make the leap from 140.2 innings to more like 200 this season.
Paddack might also improve the quality of his innings by taking a different approach with his pitch mix. After leaning heavily on his 93.1 mph fastball and changeup in 2019, he can throw batters for a loop by mixing in his nasty 12-to-6 curveball more often in 2020.
If all goes well, he could enter the race for the NL Cy Young Award.
Cavan Biggio, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays
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Hypothetically, Toronto Blue Jays players and prospects could have comprised at least half of this list.
Flamethrowing right-hander Nate Pearson isn't too far off from his major league debut. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are obvious breakout candidates for 2020 after debuting as much-hyped prospects in 2019. Though he's a little "older," 26-year-old left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is still another breakout candidate.
But if we only had to pick one, none of these guys excite us as much as Cavan Biggio.
The 24-year-old entered last season somewhere below Guerrero and Bichette in terms of hype, but he ultimately acquitted himself well in 100 games in the majors. He managed a solid .793 OPS and 2.8 rWAR.
Biggio only looks more interesting in light of his superb eye for the strike zone, which contributed to his drawing walks in 16.5 percent of his plate appearances. And between his ultra-low ground-ball rate and propensity for pulled fly balls and line drives, he also teased legit power potential.
Biggio's Hall of Fame father, Craig, was an All-Star for the first time when he was 25 back in 1991. His son might follow suit in his own age-25 season.
Eloy Jimenez, LF, Chicago White Sox
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It's possible that one of the reasons the White Sox extended Luis Robert is because they felt emboldened by the success of their similarly early deal with Eloy Jimenez.
Like Robert, Jimenez had yet to make his major league debut when he inked a six-year, $43 million contract with the White Sox last March. Also like Robert, however, at the time he was an elite prospect who was ready for his major league debut.
Despite some occasional slumps and an overall struggle in the field, Jimenez justified the White Sox's confidence in him by putting together a solid .828 OPS and 31 home runs. And he finished strong with a 1.093 OPS and nine long balls in September.
That was the end result of Jimenez seemingly becoming more comfortable at the plate in the latter half of the year, in which his strikeout rate dipped 4.2 points. The 6'4", 205-pounder also displayed a knack for loud contact throughout the year, particularly with a 47.9 hard-hit percentage that ranked in the 92nd percentile.
From here, Jimenez's next step should be toward a 40-homer outburst in 2020.
Keston Hiura, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers
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Though Christian Yelich stands alone as the Milwaukee Brewers' best hitter, he's indeed heading into 2020 with a proper partner in crime in Keston Hiura.
Hiura hit only 22 home runs in three years at UC Irvine and then 17 in his first two minor league seasons in 2017 and 2018. As such, whatever power potential he had at the time existed only in scouts' imaginations.
That changed in 2019. The 23-year-old blasted 19 long balls in only 57 games at Triple-A, plus another 19 in 84 games with the Brewers. And he truly hit the proverbial daylights out of the ball, as he ranked in the 97th percentile with a hard-hit rate of 50.0 percent.
It's certainly less impressive that Hiura also struck out in 30.7 percent of his plate appearances. Likewise, he was a below-average defender at second base according to outs above average, defensive runs saved and ultimate zone rating.
Still, the Brewers will gladly abide strikeouts and poor glove work from Hiura so long as he keeps the dingers coming. And with a nose for hard contact like the one he has, he should have as many as 40 for them in 2020.
Yoan Moncada, 3B, Chicago White Sox
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To be sure, Yoan Moncada doesn't need to be any better than he was in 2019.
After merely teasing his potential in 2017 and 2018, the 24-year-old seemed to put it all together with a .315/.367/.548 slash line, 25 homers, 10 steals and 4.6 rWAR last season.
Yet he wasn't an All-Star, a major award winner or a postseason hero, and there are reasons to believe he's only getting started on his stardom.
In lieu of being overly passive en route to an MLB-high 217 strikeouts in 2018, Moncada established an approach that worked for him and cut his strikeout rate down from 33.4 percent to 27.5 percent. It would have sunk even lower had he not lost control in May (34.4 K%) and August (42.1 K%).
If Moncada can take a step toward greater consistency in 2020, well, that's really all he needs. He was otherwise a Statcast marvel last season, as he posted well-above-average marks for exit velocity, hard-hit rate, sprint speed, expected weighted on-base average and outs above average.
Moncada is already one of the game's most talented players. This could be the year he also cements himself as one of its best.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference (including wins above replacement), FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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