The New Balance Future Stars Series is widely regarded as the premier and unquestioned leader in player identification and development in baseball. FSS specializes in identifying undervalued talent and advancing players to college baseball, professional baseball, and Major League Baseball careers through a proven blend of elite scouting, analytical forecasting, and objective performance data.
FSS has long been recognized for its ability to marry the analytical and objective with the human and subjective, projecting not only what players are today, but what they are capable of becoming. That philosophy has driven success in draft forecasting, competition matching, and long-term development through a national and international network of partners.
Over the past three years, FSS alumni have comprised approximately 35% of MiLB’s Top 100 prospects, 16% of MLB Draft selections, and one-third of MLB Draft Combine participants, underscoring the organization’s central role in modern talent identification. Collectively, players identified and developed through Future Stars Series platforms have earned signing bonuses nearing half a billion dollars.
With that said, it’s time to take a look at the players to be keeping an eye on as Spring Training gets underway in the big leagues, with a wide variety of players in camp as members of 40-man rosters or as non-roster invitees (NRI), many of them with a chance to make the Opening Day roster.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Braden Montgomery (NRI; pictured), Drew Romo (NRI)
Montgomery only has 34 professional games worth of experience above A ball, and yet the talk this Spring has been that he has a realistic chance to make the big league club. Why? He’s that good, that’s why. The 2020 Main Event alum — he was a two-way player for us at several events before mostly focusing on the position player side at Stanford — was taken 12th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 2024 MLB Draft, but swapped Sox, so to speak, in a trade with the South Siders in which he was the key part of the return in exchange for Garrett Crochet.
Still just 22 years old, Montgomery has posted a 1.267 OPS thus far in big league camp, and while he’s likely ticketed for a return to Double-A or even an ambitious start to his year in Triple-A Charlotte, he’s at least making White Sox GM Chris Getz think twice about saying he’ll start the season in the minors.
For a time, it seemed as though Romo was the Colorado Rockies catcher of the future, having been taken 35th overall by them in the 2020 MLB Draft after a standout run on the amateur circuit, including a stop at our National Tournaments on a loaded Scorpions team. Now 24, injuries and inconsistent play with the bat has him trying to reestablish himself in a new organization…it just wasn’t clear which one it would be for a while. The Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets were among the teams to have Romo in the fold after waiver claims this offseason, but it’s the White Sox where he’ll have a chance to add to 54 big league AB’s over the past two seasons.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Dennis Colleran (NRI)
Colleran has a chance to be yet another FSS alum who makes their MLB debut this season. A hard-throwing righty reliever who went in the seventh round of the MLB Draft in 2024, it’s been a quick ascension through the system for the 22-year-old. He’s made three scoreless appearances thus far in big league camp for the Royals and, like Montgomery, is coming off of the momentum of a huge showing in the Arizona Fall League.
MINNESOTA TWINS
Mick Abel (40), Marco Raya (40)
One of the most well-decorated players in FSS history, Abel has positioned himself firmly as a favorite to make the Twins out of camp after a huge start to his Spring Training in which he’s generated national headlines. He’s struck out 11 batters over six scoreless innings, reportedly touching 99 MPH, and is making the Twins look good for acquiring the one-time 15th overall pick at last year’s trade deadline.
Abel is a three-time International Week invitee as well as a National Tournaments star, and was one of the early stars to carry the torch for the FSS and provide credibility in the early years of the company.
Raya, like Abel, was on the 2019 National Team roster at International Week, and went to the Twins in the fourth round back in 2020. The upside remains significant here, and Minnesota will see what they have in the 23-year-old this year as he’s now set to be used exclusively in a bullpen role. Also a National Tournaments star, Raya spent all of last season in Triple-A St. Paul — home of one day of this year’s Main Event — and is likely set to return to the level this year as he works on refining a bullpen role.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
Franco Aleman (40), Daniel Espino (40), Bo Naylor (40), CJ Kayfus (40), Petey Halpin (40)
Why yes, yes we do have one eighth of the Guardians 40-man roster as alums, thanks for asking.
We’ll start with Aleman here, as we saw him at 2017 International Week, our first true signature event. It’s been one hell of a ride since then, including a tenth round selection by Cleveland four years later. Now, he finds himself on the cusp of the big leagues after two straight years at Triple-A Columbus in which he’s struck out 91 batters in just 59 1/3 innings of work.
Espino remains one of the best stories in baseball, and one of its easiest players to root for. Limited to just 154 pro innings since being drafted in the first round by the-then Indians in 2019 thanks to a litany of injuries, this time the road back for the hard-throwing Panama native seems real. He dazzled in a short stint in the AFL last year, and the 2018 International Week star made his Spring Training debut earlier this week, spinning one perfect inning of work. Triple-A seems like a realistic starting point for him this year.
Naylor will always hold a special place in FSS lore as our first player to reach the big leagues. Now set for his fifth season in the show after being taken 29th overall back in 2018, the Canadian-born catcher is set for his second trip to the World Baseball Classic to represent his homeland. We saw him back in 2017, when he was teammates with Aleman on the World Team at International Week.
Kayfus, who was teammates with Romo on that Scorpions team that tore through our National Tournaments in 2019, made his big league debut last year with the Guardians, two years after being drafted in the third round. A Futures Game selection last year, Kayfus posted a .707 OPS over 138 MLB PA’s in 2025, and should get an opportunity to show what he can do at the level this year over a bigger sample size.
Lastly, Halpin, who was taken in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft one year after we saw him dazzle at Fenway Park during International Week, also debuted last year in Cleveland, albeit briefly with a six-game look late in the season. He certainly made the most of it, getting on base in four of his eight plate appearances. He’s had a strong start to his big league camp this year as well, hitting .500 with a homer in six games.
About New Balance Future Stars Series
The New Balance Future Stars Series presented by Program 15 is a global platform for amateur baseball development and scouting, powered by a commitment to impact, integrity, and player-focused innovation. Its alumni can be found throughout professional baseball, and its events and partnerships have reshaped how talent is identified, nurtured, and celebrated.
Connect with New Balance Future Stars Series by visiting our website, www.futurestarsseries.com, by visiting our YouTube page, and by checking out the social media channels below.
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Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked eight Super Bowls, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,300 games covered in his career.
An avid trading card enthusiast, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son, future No. 1 overall draft pick in 2042, William, their beloved dog, Bailey, and occasionally well-behaved cat, Smokey.
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