The List: Five To Watch At The Futures Game

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to the Futures Game (Photo by Danny Arnold)

The Futures Game rosters announced Thursday should be one of the better groups of prospects the game has seen in recent years.

More than half of the rosters are filled with Top 100 Prospects–there are 26 players from our most recent May Top 100 Prospects list who will be playing in the Futures Game, including our No. 1 prospect (Yoan Moncada), four of the top 10, 10 of the top 20 and 17 of the top 50.

There are a lot of reasons to look forward to the July 9 Futures Game, but here are five of the best reasons.

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Debut On The National Stage

Vladimir Guerrero Sr. didn’t miss the first Futures Game (held in 1999) by all that much. He was already a big leaguer at that point, but that was Guerrero’s first all-star season for the Expos as a 24-year-old. Now Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be the most anticipated prospect at the 2017 Futures Game. The Blue Jays’ top prospect has preternatural feel for barreling the ball and his power is already coming through in flashes. Fast forward the calendar a couple of years and many of Guerrero’s current doubles will become home runs.

Guerrero is already in the discussion of being the best prospect in baseball. At the game last year, Eloy Jimenez got to show why he’s a top prospect. This year Guerrero will get the same opportunity.

• Yoan Moncada Gets His Final Tuneup

Moncada was the No. 1 prospect on our most recent Top 100 Prospects list. He’s got speed. He’s got developing productive power and is showing continued improvement at second base. The White Sox are being patient with Moncada, giving him extensive work in Triple-A after he got a late call-up with the Red Sox last year. That’s a benefit for Futures Game watchers as we get to see one of the best prospects in the game in an environment where he can take over the game with his speed.

• Mr. .400 Gets To Hit

As good as Guerrero Jr. has been this year, he’s been the second-best son of a big leaguer on his own Lansing team. Fellow Blue Jays prospect Bo Bichette, son of former Rockies star Dante Bichette, is hitting .402/.461/.638, putting him halfway to one of the greatest low Class A seasons of all time. Bichette has 12 games this year with three or more hits, but only eight hitless games. Bichette’s unconventional swing has drawn skepticism from scouts going back to his high school days, but he’s proving it works swing after swing–his career minor league average is .408.

• Century Club? No Problem

There are a lot of hard-throwers in this game, with Tanner Scott, Domingo Acevedo, Tayron Guerrero, Diego Castillo and Yadier Alvarez all capable of touching 100 mph in short stints. But this Futures Game gets a pair of pitchers who could go well beyond that. White Sox righthander Michael Kopech and Mariners righthander Thyago Vieira can get to 103 mph or more in short stints. Both have had to work on their control, but if they want to air it out, they can reach the Chapman zone of 103+.

• A.J. Puk’s Emergence

Coming into the 2016 college season, Puk was considered a candidate to go 1-1. A poor finish to his junior season led Puk to slide to the sixth pick, which looks to be a steal for the A’s. The 6-foot-7 lefty has regained the feel for his plus fastball and slider, giving him a pair of true weapons. No lefthanded hitter has an extra-base hit against Puk this year.