As we enter the homestretch of the 2023 season we thought it would be a fun exercise to take a look at how the top 5 prospects (per MLB.com) were fairing in their sophomore season. I can't remember the last time the top 5 prospects entering the season all were called up and played a majority of the season for their respective teams. Let's go through them in order and look at how they did last year and see if they've taken a step forward this year.
Bobby Witt Jr. SS/3B
Bobby Witt Jr. came into the 2022 season as the number 1 prospect in all of baseball per MLB.com. Witt Jr., the son of former big league pitcher Bobby Witt, bounced between third base and shortstop in 2022 before settling into Shortstop full-time this season. Witt experienced some growing pains in 2022, slashing .254/.294/.428 with 20 homers, 30 stolen bases, and a 0.9 rWAR over 150 games. Overall this is a very solid rookie season, as Witt Jr. was the fifth rookie in history to log a 20HR/20SB season.
Witt Jr. has taken a big step forward in 2023, upping his slash line on the year to .281/.320/.500 with 24 homers, 37 stolen bases, and a 4.0 rWAR over 128 games and counting. Taking a deeper dive into these numbers, Witt Jr. has had an extremely strong second half of 2023 during which he has hit .343 compared to his .247 batting average in the first half. If Witt Jr.'s second half is an indication of what Royals fans can expect in 2024, they could have their first MVP candidate since George Brett. Witt Jr. is also arguably the favorite to win the AL gold glove at shortstop, showing some much-improved defense as well. If it weren't for the next two people on the list and the poor roster surrounding him, Witt Jr. would have much more national attention and his solid season would be talked about much more.
Adley Rutschman, C
Adley Rutschman made an immediate impact on the Orioles organization by not only being a great baseball player but also energizing a fanbase that has been patiently waiting to be competitive again. Rutschman was the first of many highly anticipated, impact prospects (Grayson Rodriguez, Gunnar Henderson, potentially Jackson Holiday) to be called up and he showed he was more than ready for the show. Over 113 games in 2022, Adley slashed .254/.362/.445 with 13 homers and accumulated a 5.2 rWAR, finishing second in rookie of the Year voting. Adley also got the Orioles dangerously close to the playoffs and is one of the leaders on the 2023 team that has the best record in the American league.
Over 119 games in 2023, Adley is slashing .272/.369/.428 with 16 homers and has accumulated 2.9 rWAR. The OPS+ is down a little bit this year but this could also be due to pitchers pitching around him more, and according to dWAR is down to -0.1 from 1.5 in 2022. However, Adley is still the best catcher in baseball and has been the leader on the best team in the AL. The icing on top is that he is a switch hitter who can do damage from both sides of the plate.
Julio Rodriguez, OF
JRod is the only rookie in recent memory to have a bigger impact on their team than Adley Rutschman, leading the Mariners to their first playoff berth in over 20 years and taking home the Rookie of the Year award. In his rookie of the year campaign, JRod slashed .284/.345/.509 with 28 homers and 28 stolen bases, accumulating 6.2 rWAR over 132 games. JRod was the fifth player to accomplish a 20HR/20SB season as a rookie, beating top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. to this feat.
JRod took a step back and experienced a bit of a sophomore slump, as he hit only .249 in the first half of 2023. However, in the second half he has hit a whopping .347 and over the past week was on a 17-21 heater. On the year, he has slashed .278/.336/.462 with 21 homers and 33 stolen bases, while accumulating a 4.6 rWAR over 121 games. JRod's strong second half is a big reason why the Mariners have forced themselves into playoff contention despite selling some players at the deadline and not making any major acquisitions. There's still a chance that JRod can accomplish a 30HR/40SB season and looks to be a perennial MVP candidate for a long time, showing that the Mariners were right to lock up JRod for the next 12 years with a contract that could be worth up to $400m.
Spencer Torkelson, 3B/1B
Torkelson has disappointed in his time in the major leagues, and despite a strong spring training in 2022 that earned him the starting 1B job for the Tigers struggled mightily, slashing .203/.285/.319 with 8 homers and OPS+ of 74, accumulating a total of -1.2 rWAR over 110 games. Torkelson looked to be a player that could've severely used some more time at AAA, but the Tigers wanted to get him as much big-league experience as possible and let him spend the whole year on the Major League roster.
In 2023, Torkelson has taken a step forward, slashing .233/.315/.439 with 22 homers and OPS+ of 105, accumulating 0.5 rWAR over 112 games. Torkelson is also hitting slightly better in the second half, hitting .244 compared to .228 in the first half of the 2023 season. Torkelson has also struggled defensively, putting up a -1.4 dWAR in 2023. Overall, Torkelson is looking like a primary DH with some pop which is not what you would want from the number 4 prospect in baseball.
Riley Greene, OF
Riley Greene has had some bad luck since being called up in 2022 where he missed some time with injuries. In 2022, he slashed .253/.321/.362 with 5 homers and 1 stolen base (4 caught stealing), but still accumulated a 1.5 rWAR over 93 games. Greene, like Torkelson, doesn't need to worry about losing playing time as he is one of the key players the Tigers need to develop if they want to be competitive anytime soon.
In 2023, Riley Greene has shown that he has adjusted to major league pitching as he is slashing .303/.362/.476 with 11 homers and 6 stolen bases (0 caught stealing), accumulating 2.2 rWAR over 88 games. If Riley Greene can stay healthy and continue to build off his strong 2023 season he will turn into a very solid cornerstone for the Tigers.
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