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Today, we’re highlighting 10 breakout candidates for the 2024 MLB season. The list includes top prospects, under-the-radar talents, and players who debuted last season but are ready to take their performance to another level this year. You’ll know all of these players if you’re a diehard baseball fan but if you’re a casual, you might want to get these names engrained into your memory before Opening Day.
Let’s jump in…
Taj Bradley, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
Bradley didn’t really get a chance to settle in during his rookie season. The 22-year-old was called up to The Show on April 11 and made his impressive debut the next day. He continued to showcase his potential in his second start, pitching 5.1 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.
But injuries to key Rays starters forced Bradley into a difficult role with the club as a young, raw prospect. The rest of his rookie year was filled with growing pains as he finished with a 5.59 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 23 home runs allowed in 104.2 innings.
As uninspiring as those numbers are, Bradley has more than enough talent to produce a bounce-back sophomore campaign. He pairs a high-90s fastball with a changeup that notched a 41 percent whiff rate last season. His curveball has also proven effective.
If he puts it all together in Year 2, Bradley will be a breakout star for a Rays club that needs someone to step up and fill the voids left by Shane McLanahan and Tyler Glasnow.
Junior Caminero, INF, Tampa Bay Rays
We caught a brief glimpse of Caminero with the big-league club last season, but the Rays’ top prospect is poised for a breakout in his official rookie campaign.
Caminero, who turned 20 in September, appeared in seven games for Tampa Bay at the end of the regular season. He skipped Triple-A after tearing it up at Double-A Montgomery. As MLB’s No. 4 ranked prospect, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him skip the Triple-A level entirely and begin the 2024 season on Tampa’s roster.
“I'm going to go wherever the team puts me, whether it's on the Opening Day roster or whether it's Triple-A,” Caminero told reporters on Monday, according to MLB.com. “I'm just going to control what I can control, and that's something I can't control. I'm just going to play hard, and wherever the team puts me, it's on them.”
“But if I go to Triple-A, I’m not gonna spend a lot of time there.”
Caminero has every reason to be confident. He can do serious damage at the plate and is a solid defender at the hot corner. The Rays’ infield is already stacked, but they should have no problem making room for such an exciting young talent. When they do, get ready for the Caminero Show.
Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets
Alvarez’s rookie 2023 season probably wasn’t what Mets fans were hoping for. The former top prospect often looked overmatched at the plate, hitting just .209 with a .284 on-base percentage and 110 strikeouts to only 34 walks through 123 games.
His power, however, was as advertised. Alvarez’s 25 homers marked the most by a Mets rookie catcher and the most in MLB history among catchers aged 21 or younger. He also proved to be competent behind the plate, which was a worry heading into his first full year as the Mets’ primary backstop.
Last year, Alvarez took over as the starting catcher after an injury to Omar Narvaez. This time around, he enters as the unquestioned No. 1 catcher on the depth chart. The 22-year-old, who was hyped up as a prospect for his hitting prowess, should only get better moving forward and is primed for a breakout in 2024.
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
As the top pitching prospect in baseball, Rodriguez was expected to be part of the youth movement that would make Baltimore a force to be reckoned with in the American League last season. The young O’s indeed dominated with 101 wins to take the division, but Rodriguez largely was a disappointment.
The Orioles opted to start the season with Rodriguez in Triple-A but called him up in early April following an injury to Kyle Bradish. It was a rude awakening for the 22-year-old, who posted a dismal 7.35 ERA through his first 10 starts.
Rodriguez was sent back down to the minors where he apparently figured something out, because he was far better the rest of the season. He returned to the big leagues in mid-July and lowered his ERA from 7.35 to 4.35 over his final 13 starts. He allowed two runs or fewer in all but three of those appearances.
With Bradish and John Means unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, the Orioles will look for Rodriguez to carry his second-half success into 2024. He’s a strong breakout candidate who could form a dangerous trio atop the rotation alongside Bradish and prized offseason acquisition Corbin Burnes.
Royce Lewis, 3B, Minnesota Twins
I shouldn’t need to convince anyone that Lewis is a breakout candidate for 2024. The 24-year-old let his bat do the talking with 15 homers (four grand slams) in 58 regular-season games and two homers in the wild-card win that ended Minnesota’s postseason losing streak.
The only real worry for Lewis is his health. He missed the entire 2021 season with a torn right ACL. In 2022, he played 12 games before tearing the ACL again, causing him to miss the rest of the year and the first two months of the 2023 season. He also missed time last year with a strained left oblique and a strained left hamstring.
One could make the argument Lewis already has broken out, but I believe he’s on the verge of becoming a household name. We’re talking perennial All-Star potential if he can avoid the injury bug.
Wilyer Abreu, OF, Boston Red Sox
Abreu was a bright spot for the Red Sox at the end of their last-place 2023 season. Acquired from the Houston Astros as part of the 2022 Christian Vazquez deal, the 24-year-old outfielder was called up in late August after tearing it up at Triple-A Worcester.
In 28 big-league games, Abreu slugged eight doubles and two homers while posting a .316 batting average and an .862 OPS. Barring a surprise, he should pick up where he left off and make the Opening Day roster as the starting right fielder. He impressed defensively during his brief stint in the majors as well.
It’s likely to be another rough year for Boston, but Abreu can bring excitement to a frustrated Red Sox fanbase in 2024.
Kyle Harrison, LHP, San Francisco Giants
Harrison is the top left-handed pitching prospect in baseball. He debuted in the big leagues last season at 21 years old, posting a 4.15 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 35 strikeouts and 11 walks in seven starts (34.2 innings).
Control issues were the primary culprit for Harrison’s struggles in Triple-A, but he improved in that area and provided a glimpse of his true potential in The Show. He boasts true ace upside and could form a legitimate 1-2 punch with Logan Webb this year.
Noelvi Marte, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
Marte arrived in Cincinnati in the blockbuster trade that sent ace Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners. He played in 35 games last season as a 21-year-old, slashing .316/.366/.456 with seven doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs.
The kid can flat-out hit, and that’s likely to land him on the Reds’ Opening Day roster as their starting third baseman. The left side of Cincinnati’s infield is set to be electrifying with a full year of Marte at third and Elly De La Cruz at shortstop.
As of today, Marte has the third-best National League Rookie of the Year odds behind Los Angeles Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee. Although the rookie class is pretty loaded, I’d confidently sprinkle some money on a Marte RotY future if I were a betting man. It almost feels like cheating to include him on a potential breakout list.
Bobby Miller, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers
You absolutely could argue that Miller broke out in his rookie 2023 season. The hard-throwing righty went 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 119 strikeouts and 32 walks through 22 starts (124.1 innings). He’s on this list because he has another level to reach.
Miller was forced into action last year amid a flurry of injuries to the rotation. The 24-year-old rose to the occasion and showcased elite command while throwing 100-mph fastballs and sinkers past hitters. What’s scary is Miller — despite his ace upside — is probably the third or fourth pitcher in L.A.’s stacked rotation behind Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Walker Buehler if he’s healthy. That takes a ton of pressure off him in Year 2 and allows him to focus on being the Dodgers’ breakout star of the 2024 campaign.
Jackson Chourio, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Including Chourio on a list of breakout candidates isn’t exactly bold. The No. 2 ranked prospect in MLB is an NL Rookie of the Year favorite after signing an $82 million contract with Milwaukee in December — the biggest deal ever given to a player with no big-league experience.
It’s easy to see why the Brewers paid the soon-to-be 20-year-old outfielder. Chourio is fast, plays stellar defense in center field, and boasts lightning-quick bat speed. He slashed .283/.338/.467 with 26 doubles, three triples, 22 homers, 91 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases in 128 games (122 in Double-A, six in Triple-A) last year. He’s positioned to be the Brewers’ Opening Day center fielder and should quickly show why he’s worth every penny of his record-setting contract.
Zack Gelof, 2B, Oakland A’s
Gelof played only 69 games as a rookie last season and still led Oakland in fWAR. The former top infield prospect debuted in mid-July and finished the campaign with 20 doubles, 14 homers, 32 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and an .840 OPS. He also impressed with the glove at second base.
The A’s will mostly be a laughingstock again in 2024, but Gelof alone makes them worth watching. The 24-year-old already is the best all-around player on the roster and will look to assert himself as one of the best young players in the American League.
Do any other 2024 breakout candidates come to mind? Leave them in the comments.
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