Ranking the Top 10 MLB First Base Prospects Heading into 2014
Ranking the Top 10 MLB First Base Prospects Heading into 2014
The two corner positions in Major League Baseball are vital to the power and run-production of any and every team. If you see a successful team that has the potential to win the World Series, chances are they at least have a powerful first baseman. Take the Boston Red Sox for example. They have David Ortiz and Mike Napoli that both played that position over the course of the season.
So the question is who are the next great first basemen for those major league teams that are waiting on their top first base prospect? There isn’t a magic potion for the creation of a great first baseman and sometimes it might take a while for a good one to come along. Take the Red Sox for example. They don’t have a first baseman in their top 20 prospects. If they didn’t have Napoli or Ortiz for the job, they would really be hurting.
Quite a few teams do have someone waiting in the wings to be the next power hitting first basemen however. This is a list of the top 10 first base prospects in all of MLB. If you want to dispute one of these names or the ranking of them, leave a comment in the space below. Without any further delay, here are the top 10 future first base sluggers that are within a year or two of bursting onto the scene.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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10 – Max Muncy
Muncy is the #15 prospect of the Tampa Bay Rays and moving right along in his development. In his double-A season in 2013 Muncy had a .273 batting average and .857 OPS with 25 homers and 100 RBI. He has a little ways to develop but his power is certainly showing up already.
9 – Ronald Guzman
The #7 prospect of the Texas Rangers, Guzman had a decent 2013 with 4 homers and 26 RBI in limited games with a .272 average and .712 OPS. He certainly has to up his game next year if he wants to stay close to the top of the first base prospects.
8 – Keon Barnum
Barnum is the #12 prospect of the Chicago White Sox. His 2013 showed a .254 average and .718 OPS. With those numbers and the signing of Jose Dariel Abreu, Barnum will have to make the most of the next few years to carve out a spot.
7 – Christian Walker
Walker is the #10 ranked prospect of the Baltimore Orioles. He had an impressive .300 average with .815 OPS in 2013 which is good along with 11 homers and 56 RBI. With the future of Chris Davis uncertain, Walker could make the most of upping his game in the next year or so.
6 – Hunter Morris
Morris, the #7 Milwaukee Brewers prospect, might not be first ranked on this list but he is probably the most likely to make a splash at the MLB level in 2014. The Brewers need some help at first and his .247 average and .766 is decent but the 24 homers and 73 RBI are very attractive.
5 – Dominic Smith
Smith is #7 ranked for the New York Mets. His power and production numbers aren’t amazing but the .301 average and .837 Ops are very promising. He is only coming out of Rookie league so has plenty of time to grow.
4 – Matthew Olson
Olson comes in at the #5 spot for the Oakland Athletics. They might want him to improve on his A-full numbers of .225 batting average and .761 OPS but the power and production of 23 homers and 93 RBI are promising already.
3 – Dan Vogelbach
The #10 Chicago Cubs prospect is beginning to look like a bona fide future star for the Cubbies. His A advanced numbers looked good at .284 average and .824 OPS with 19 home runs and 76 RBI. Further development of his overall skills over the next season plus will put him in good position to force the Cubs to put him somewhere.
2 – C.J. Cron
Cron is the #2 ranked Los Angeles Angels prospect and looks very promising with Double-A numbers of .274 average and .746 OPS added nicely to 14 homers and 83 RBI. The Angels could use all of the good prospects they can get.
1 – Jonathan Singleton
Singleton dropped off a little bit with his numbers in 2013 with an average of only .230 and a .753 OPS. His 11 home runs and 44 RBI are sort of low as well but he does have a ton of potential remaining. The Astros might give their #2 ranked prospect a serious look before the 2014 season to see if he is ready for the big league job.
