those are definitely the marquee names but baseball is so unpredictable, i could see like oscar gonzalez or brendan donovan or whoever developing over the next few years and being a surprise star. peña was pretty impressive.
obviously i don't know the answer to this but i mostly wanted to have a thread to talk about how impressive and exciting this year's rookie class was and chart how they grow going forward
― na (NA), Wednesday, 16 November 2022 15:33 (two years ago) link
He didn't get much playing time, but the Jays' Omar Moreno looks promising (may be traded).
Unduly influenced by the postseason, I'll go with Pena.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 16 November 2022 17:02 (two years ago) link
Rodriguez probably the best bet. Harris did great, I think Strider was even better (that 16 K game later in the season was probably the best SP performance of the year i'm thinking), Rutschman looks legit, Witt can only get better, i like Cruz, Gonzalez, and Pena a lot. Suzuki and Morel are my loyalty picks being a Cubs fan, but i think they're lower-tier.
J-Rod it is, followed by Strider.
― omar little, Wednesday, 16 November 2022 20:09 (two years ago) link
worth remembering pena is 25. adley is 24. julio is 21.
it feels obvious to say julio but his combination of size, athleticism, tools, approach, production, defensive value... there's very very few players in baseball let alone this list that offer that kinda package. and he got better as the year went on, he seems like a hard worker, he's charismatic, wants to lead the team and all that. from what i can tell he's essentially a flawless player at this age
adley would be my second choice... huge stretch i know. he will prob hit for less average than julio and i would worry just a bit about his body, but he's gonna bet he next buster posey probably. hard to imagine him not having a great 15 year career
michael harris is amazing... a legit gold glove level centerfielder w/ 25 home run power. there seems to be a bigger hole in his game in terms of his approach... feel like he's not really the .300 level hitter he was this year. and maybe over time the athleticism/defense wane... he's not quite on the level of hitter as adley and julio.
and then bobby witt prob has to be brought up... he was behind all three production wise but the athleticism/defense/tools aspect is there. a 22 year old putting up 2.5 WAR at SS is pretty serious. mostly curious what his true level OBP will end up at.
all the rest of these guys have to be behind them i think, not a huge shock. oneil cruz is prob the most interesting, he just absolutely crushes the ball, but whether he has the same level hit tool and defensive value as the rest of these guys is an open question. MJ melendez was really impressive too, you could prob throw him in the top group.
inherently all the pitchers prob fall behind. spencer strider was putting up K and swing strike numbers that were essentially historic. but not sure you can trust a pitcher's arm when the stuff and the Ks are that high. i like lodolo too but pitching in cincy is really tough
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 16 November 2022 20:55 (two years ago) link
Totally forgot about Pena's age (after pointing it out myself on the postseason thread). So I'll go with the conventional J-Rod vote, even though I already voted.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 16 November 2022 21:54 (two years ago) link
I somehow missed this poll. I would have gone with the obvious J-Rod pick, but Michael Harris put up 5.3 WAR last year, which I hadn't even realized until he won ROY. And he's the same age as Rodriguez.
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Thursday, 1 December 2022 07:34 (two years ago) link
huh i had put the names in alphabetical order, i wonder how ilx decides how to sort all the poll options that get 0 points
― na (NA), Thursday, 1 December 2022 13:55 (two years ago) link