Starlin Castro Just First of Top Prospect Crop To Be Promoted

In the Chicago Cubs' 14-7 win over the Reds on Friday night, Starlin Castro made his Major League debut and debuted with a bang. Not only did the stud shortstop hit a home run in his first at-bat, but he also tripled and drove in a total of six runs for Lou Piniella's club. 

We already saw Jason Heyward's impact on the Braves, as well as David Freese in St. Louis and Austin Jackson in Detroit. But Castro is one of the first top prospects to be called up this season.

With all of the hype surrounding Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman, a crop of top prospects are making an impact in the minors, and some have already made their debuts in the big leagues.

Let's start with the Tigers other rookie outfielder, Brennan Boesch, who was called up April 23. Boesch is hitting .324 in 37 at-bats so far with two homers and 10 runs batted in. Two other youngsters to watch in Detroit are second baseman Scott Sizemore and catcher Alex Avila.

The Texas Rangers received a wealth of talent in the Mark Teixeira trade with the Braves a few years ago and now the fans in Texas are starting to see that talent emerge. Matt Harrison is in the rotation, currently 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA in six games.

Neftali Feliz can throw over 100 mph and is a hard pitcher to hit off of late in the game. Jarrod Saltamacchia started in Texas but is now at Triple-A Oklahoma City with another catching prospect, Taylor Teagarden. But, two other prospects are now impressing Ranger fans.

Max Ramirez and Justin Smoak were both called up in April and will have the chance to showcase their talents in the Majors. Ramirez, the fourth prospect in the Texeira trade, is backing up Matt Treanor and Smoak is starting at first base and in 14 games is hitting .196 with three homers and eight RBI. Smoak's numbers will definitely improve over time.

In addition to these youngsters, many others are getting in done in the Majors like Toronto's Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil, Tampa's David Price, Mets first baseman Ike Davis, Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin, San Diego's Kyle Blanks, and Andrew McCutchen in Pittsburgh.

There are also some stars not named Strasburg or Chapman in the minors waiting to be called up. The already deep Rays team can call-up outfielder Desmond Jennings or pitcher Jeremy Hellickson in a heart beat if one of their players at that position goes down.

The other Florida team has a star in waiting at Double-A Jacksonville in Mike Stanton, who will be in a Marlins uniform sooner rather than later. Stanton already has 14 homers and 31 RBI this season.

There is also a strong group of catchers headed by San Francisco's Buster Posey and Cleveland's Carlos Santana. Santana is batting .313 with five homers and 23 RBI at Triple-A Columbus and should be called up soon. Posey is stuck behind Bengie Molina, at least for this season, but that has not stopped him batting .343 in 26 games at Triple-A Fresno.

As you can see, there are many young names looking to make an impact this season and Starlin Castro's performance tonight is just the start of an amazing group of prospects to reach the Majors this season.