While we’re not handing out official awards, there’s no chance we pass on the opportunity to highlight the development of several players who came through New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series before signing big-league deals.
There were several big-time performances, a few MLB debuts, some notable pro debuts, and a terrific first big-league season which was unfortunately cut short by injury.
I won’t mention every player or I’d never be done. Future Stars Series had 95 former players drafted in 2024 alone. Here are some of the most notables entries in pro ball from this past season.
The Big Leaguer
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP — Baltimore Orioles
Rodriguez debuted with 23 promising starts a year ago and broke camp with the Orioles this past spring. The right-hander was outstanding until a lat injury cut short the 24-year-old’s year after 20 starts.
Rodriguez’s four-pitch mix is full of swing and miss, and his changeup (.161 BAA, 35% whiff) is one of two strikeout pitches.
Rodriguez was relatively unknown when he showed out at the New Balance Future Stars International Week back in 2017 and drew this report from the scouting staff:
MLB Debuts
Drew Romo, C — Colorado Rockies
Romo hit .297 with 14 homers in Triple-A, then got the call in August, collecting his first career hit as a major leaguer August 20 at the Washington Nationals.
Dylan Crews, OF — Washington Nationals
Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, started the year in Double-A, moving to Triple-A after 51 games. He combined to hit .270/.341/.450 with 40 extra-base hits in the minors, leading to the Nationals calling his name late in August.
Crews’ first big-league hit came at home against the New York Yankees, a double off Bronx ace Gerrit Cole. His first long ball came a day later off Carlos Rodon.
The Future Stars Series staff got its first close-up look at Crews in 2019 at the NBFSS International Week.
Crews’ Scouting Report from that Event:
Kyren Paris, SS — Los Angeles Angels
Paris debuted in May and collected his first hit in The Show a few days later off Kansas Coty Royals ace Cole Ragans. Injuries cut short Paris’ season in June.
Paris’ game is wheels and defensive ability. He could easily extend his versatility to the outfield.
Movin’ on Up
Cooper Pratt, SS — Milwaukee Brewers
Pratt, a sixth-round pick a year ago, just turned 20 August 18 but was consistently good all season, earning a mid-season promotion to High-A. The shortstop and Top 100 prospect hit .277/.362/.406 for the year and swiped 27 bags in 30 attempts.
At both stops, Pratt warmed up as time passed, finishing his time in Single-A batting .323/.391/.429 in 36 games, then repeating the effort in High-A, hitting five homers in the final 14 games.
Pratt needs to play, but it was a great start to what may be a very long career in the majors, likely at third base where the hit and power should play well with above-board defense.
Back in 2022, here’s what Pratt showed our staff at a Regional Combine in New Orleans:
Cam Collier, 3B — Cincinnati Reds
The 19-year-old spent the year in High-A Dayton, batting .248/.355/.443 with 20 homers and 22 doubles. In a 31-game span July 25 to September 1, Collier slashed .350/.493/.670 with 17 extra-base hits and more walks than strikeouts.
He has work to do versus left-handed pitching and with his feet defensively, but it’s impact power and improving strike zone coverage heading toward 2025.
Collier impressed the FSS staff early. This report is from July 2021:
Robby Snelling, LHP — Miami Marlins
Snelling is one of the better left-handed pitching prospects in baseball, but struggled in Double-A with command and control, issuing 33 bases on balls in 73.1 innings, and serving up 14 homers.
After being dealt to the Miami Marlins in July, however, he looked more like he did in 2023, posting a 41-11 K/BB ratio in 36 innings.
He’s a fastball-slider-changeup southpaw — primarily the first two — but he’ll generate swing-and-miss with the breaker and is learning to spot his four-seamer better in on right-handed batters and at the top of the zone. Snelling is just 20 years of age and has a chance to see the majors in 2024.
C.J. Kayfus, 1B — Cleveland Guardians
As I noted here with five others, Kayfus is one the more unheralded hitting prospects in the minors, mostly because he doesn’t project for elite home run numbers.
The lefty stick hit .291/.393/.511 with 49 extra-base hits, 17 homers, in two stops this season, and reminds some scouts of Yonder Alonso or Mitch Moreland. I prefer the Brandon Belt comp, however.
Kayfus may be able to play a little left field, too, potentially helping him get the majors quicker, and stay there as he acclimates.
In 2024, he handled lefties (.342/.393/.532) better than righties and has the swing and strike zone judgment to cut down on the 124 strikeouts (25%).
Termarr Johnson, 2B — Pittsburgh Pirates
Johnson, the No. 4 overall selection in 2022, went on a nice tear after an uneven first five weeks of the season. In his final 88 contests, Johnson slashed .258/.360/.432 with 14 homers and fanned under 21% of the time as a 20-year-old in High-A.
Like Collier, Johnson is working on his handling of left-handed pitchers, but he can run, and defend at second, and if you leave even a crumb middle-in he’ll make you pay for it with power.
Sebastian Walcott, SS — Texas Rangers
Walcott, who will not be 19 until he reports for spring training next March, had a strong first full season, reaching Double-A thanks to a .261/.342/.443 slash in High-A that includes 50 extra-base hits.
He also went 8-for-23 in the Texas League with a homer and three doubles, so Josh Smith, Josh Jung, and Wyatt Langford aren’t the last in line of fast-moving hitters in the Rangers’ pipeline.
Walcott likely ends up at third base or the outfield, but his in-line speed remains above average and there’s no visible ceiling on the bat.
Walcott was 15 when our staff got their first extended look:
Michael Arroyo, 2B — Seattle Mariners
Arroyo, 20 in November, has average or better power despite standing just 5-foot-8. He’s a sturdy 180 pounds with quick feet, above-average in-line speed, and a good understanding of the strike zone. Blasted 23 homers this season split between Single-A and High-A, and stole 28 bases to boot.
There are still questions as to whether or not he can remain on the dirt defensively, and considering where his power probably projects out to the majors he;ll need to clean up some of the swing-and-miss, but the kid keeps hitting everywhere he goes.
Versus pitchers old than he is — and that was almost every arm he faced all year, Arroyo batted .285/.401/.513. He faced a pitcher younger than he is in just eight plate appearances.
Four years ago he hit the NBFSS World Combine and the staff liked what they saw:
Roc Riggio, 2B — New York Yankees
Riggio didn’t hit for average in his first full season as a pro, but he did everything else, including defend at second, get on base, and show legitimate big-league pop to his pull side.
Riggio also showed pretty well versus lefties, and he had a great finish to the season, slashing .274/.397/.516 over his final 26 games.
Henry Bolte, OF — Oakland Athletics
For me, Bolte is one of the more underrated prospects in the game — he just missed the cut here — and he had a strong season in the power department in 2024, tallying 55 extra-base hits at age 21.
He can run (46 stolen bases) and defend, projecting as a plus right fielder if he has to move from center. But he’ll need to find a way to put the ball in play more. His 34.7% strikeout rate is a bit alarming, but despite that he still batted .267 with a .368 OBP for the year.
The tools are unquestionable, Bolte simply needs time. He did land in Double-A to end the year, so likely will head back there to start 2025.
Boston Baro, 3B –New York Mets
Baro fell to Round 8 last July but has made clubs pay by doing nothing but hit since he debuted last summer. In 2024, Baro posted a .278/.358/.390 slash in 419 plate appearances split between Single-A and High-A.
The power may take some time but he has a shot to stick at second base. He’ll likely start 2025 as a 20-year-old in High-A with a chance to reach Double-A by the summer.
Baro impressed the FSS staff back in 2021:
Zac Veen, OF — Colorado Rockies
Veen is a bona fide big-league player but has to stay off the IL, and he spent too much time on it again in 2024, managing just 270 plate appearances.
He did hit .258/.346/.459 in 65 games split between four levels — including 21 games at Triple-A — and Veen can do everything on the field, including defend and run the bases.
A healthy Veen sees Coors Field next year. Book it. But he’s played more than 106 games in a season just once since he went No. 9 overall in the 2020 Draft.
Nolan McLean, RHP — New York Mets
McLean was drafted as a two-way player and slugged .552 in 25 games in High-A Brooklyn this past season, but has decided to focus on the mound where he piled up 116 strikeouts in 109.2 innings this season.
It’s a plus fastball and a chance at a plus or better slider for the Oklahoma State product. The FSS Staff saw a potential 80-grade heater back in our 2021 17U Nationals:
Notable ’24 Draft Debuts
Tyson Neighbors, RHR — San Diego Padres
Neighbors went in Round 4 out of Kansas State as perhaps the best pure reliever in the entire class. He made four appearances in Low-A, punching out nine in 4.2 innings.
It’s a fastball tickling triple digits but most importantly Neighbors manipulates the movement on the pitch very well, setting up a hard cutter and true slider that each miss bats.
Malcolm Moore, C — Texas RangersMoore was the final pick of the first round and after a slow first week blasted three homers at Single-A Hickory.
Cam Caminiti, LHP — Atlanta Braves
It’s not often prep arms get time after the draft, but Caminiti made one start, went three innings, and allowed one run on three hits. He punched out four and did not walk a batter. Despite being a prep pick, he’s not likely to stay in one place long, so if you live in the area of one of the Braves’ affiliates and you want to get a look, don’t wait.
On the Brink of the Bigs
Jordan Lawlar, SS — Arizona Diamondbacks
Lawlar, who debuted in the majors last season, missed most of 2024 due to thumb and hamstring injuries. He’s tooled up and essentially ready for the show, however, so don’t be shocked if the Diamondbacks make some kind of infield move over the winter reflecting Lawlar’s presence.
Tink Hence, RHP — St. Louis Cardinals
Hence had a great 2024 but a couple of injuries fogged up the future. If fully healthy, the right-hander seems destined to see Busch Stadium in 2025. He dominated most of the year with a mid-90s fastball, above-average slider, and plus changeup.
Hence had the FSS staff at hello back in 2019:
Adam Macko, LHP — Toronto Blue Jays
Macko reminds some of Scott Kazmir, a hard-throwing, undersized lefty with multiple breaking ball shapes, but so far Macko shares Kazmir’s issues throwing strikes consistently.
Such an issue could mean Macko lands in the bullpen, but his stuff could flourish there, in the majors, as early as 2025.
Mick Abel, RHP — Philadelphia Phillies
Abel allowed a lot of baserunners in 2024 — 78 walks, 119 hits in 108.2 innings — which cornered his arsenal and resulted in an ugly 6.46 ERA in 24 starts.
But don’t be fooled. Abel, 23, has plus raw stuff and simply needs to throw more strikes and go from there. He likely repeats Double-A in attempt to do that, but all it takes is one tweak and the Phillies have another power arm in the majors.
Owen Caissie, OF — Chicago Cubs
Caissie, who was taken in Round 2 by the San Diego Padres in 2020 and then traded for Yu Darvish in 2021, put together a solid 2024 laced with extra-base production and patience. He batted .278/.375/.473 in Triple-A Iowa, handling lefties well and showing some improvement in pitch selection.
The swing-and-miss is a problem, but scouts like the swing plane and Caissie’s overall attack plan. He’ll likely start 2025 as a 22-year-old in Triple-A, but we can see the smoke of the big-league fire from the Pacific Coast League.
Caissie’s 2019 Scouting Report from Future Stars Series:
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