Futures Game Preview: Team USA

For yesterday’s preview of the World Team, please click here.

The Guys You Know

Forrest Whitley (No. 10 on Top 101)
Brendan Rodgers (No. 12 on Top 101)
Bo Bichette (No. 19 on Top 101)
Mitch Keller (No. 16 on Top 101)
Keston Hiura (No. 32 on Top 101)
Jordon Adell (No. 38 on Top 101)
Hunter Greene (No. 39 on Top 101)
Kyle Wright (No. 42 on Top 101)
Dylan Cease (No. 47 on Top 101)

The Guys You Don’t

Shaun Anderson, RHP, San Francisco Giants (Double-A Richmond) – The former Florida reliever is in his first season in the Giants organization, after being traded from the Red Sox where he was converted to a starter. In 16 starts this season, he has used a four pitch mix, with a low 90’s fastball, average command of his high 80’s slider, a changeup which generates some swing and miss, and a curveball to keep hitters off balance. He continues to work on commanding his pitches the third time through the lineup.  – AC

C.D. Pelham, LHP, Texas Rangers (Double-A Frisco) – Pelham has made great strides at corralling his massive 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame into more consistent pitch-to-pitch execution. The big lefty rode his gnarly mid-90’s cut fastball to 11 Saves in 11 chances at Down East before bumping up to Double A a couple weeks back. —WK

The Guys You Will

Justus Sheffield, LHP, New York Yankees (Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, No. 57 on Top 101)
We tend to only describe lefties with big stuff, up-and-down performance, and general quirkiness as “mercurial,” but darned if it doesn’t fit the bill for Justus Sheffield. The mercurial lefty dominated a short return trip to Double-A before bumping up to Triple-A, where he’s continued to pitch well. As always, the stuff and performance is there when he’s healthy. And as always, he hasn’t entirely stayed healthy, although this first half’s short journey to the DL for shoulder stiffness seems less foreboding than many of his prior injuries. Command remains an on-again, off-again problem for Sheffield too, and height always will work against him. But despite all the knocks, what remains underneath is one of the most special left arms in the minors. —JS

Taylor Trammell, OF, Cincinnati Reds (High-A Daytona, No. 59 on Top 101)
The athletic 2016 sandwich pick has continued to build on his broad base of skills, ranking among the FSL leaders in AVG, OBP, BB, and SB at the age of 20. A patient left-handed hitter, Trammell profiles as a true leadoff man with moderate extra-base pop. He has the speed for center, but scouts are split on whether he’ll stick there—if he moves to a corner, his arm will limit him to left. —Dan Noffsinger

Ryan Mountcastle, 3B, Baltimore Orioles (Double-A Bowie, No. 65 on Top 101)
The former first-round pick has moved apace through the minor leagues and after some initial struggled at the Double-A level last year, has adapted quite nicely in 2018 at the plate. He displays great hands at the plate, allowing him to wait on pitches to help identify them and lash balls to all fields. Speaking of “fields,” well, he can really hit. He’s not much of a third baseman and could see time in left field eventually, but he’s also DH’d double-digit games at Bowie already this year, which could be a preview of his long-term position. —CG

Carter Kieboom, SS, Washington Nationals (Double-A Harrisburg, No. 71 on Top 101)
Kieboom’s selection in the late first round of the 2016 draft is looking extremely good for the Nationals, as he’s followed through on the hype surrounding him at the plate. He displays above-average bat speed, covering the plate well and doesn’t get beat simply by velocity. He’s encountered more consistent and sharper breaking balls since his mid-season promotion to Double-A, but continues to mash at the plate. Kieboom has plus raw power, and while he doesn’t get to all of it in-game, that could come in time as he continues to fill out. While reports on his glove at short are a touch more optimistic than they were previously, that aforementioned “filling out” could rob him of range and push him to third base, where the bat should still play quite nicely. —CG

Dakota Hudson, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis) – The Cardinals’ first-rounder in 2016 has proven as durable and reasonably effective as everyone suspected he would be when he was drafted. He’s also failed to miss bats in the high minors at a modern rate, as predicted. His ability to limit hard contact with a deep arsenal and quality pitchability has kept him firmly on his destined backend-starter trajectory in spite of the limitations, however. —WK

Matt Manning, RHP, Detroit Tigers (Low-A West Michigan)
Manning has started to put together in 2018, corralling his mechanics for both velocity and command gains. He’s still shown less consistency than you’d like from a top ten overall pick two years out from the draft, but Manning is a premium athlete who has flashed mid-90s velo and a plus curve at times. If nothing else, it will be incredibly entertaining to watch him air it out for an inning. —JP  

Danny Jansen, C, Toronto Blue Jays (Triple-A Buffalo)
Corrective lenses gave Jansen a pair of very fashionable specs and a hit tool bump that made him a breakout catching prospect last year. A strong 2018 at the plate in Buffalo has confirmed he’s no mere pop-up prospect either . While Jansen won’t win a gold glove behind the plate, he’s a solid defender who the Jays minor league staff love throwing to. —JP

Sean Murphy, C, Oakland Athletics (Double-A Midland)
Murphy doesn’t look like a catcher at first glance. A 6-foot-3 with a long and strong frame, he more resembles a prototypical first baseman. He has plus raw power and generates plus bat speed due to quick hips and wrists.He has a fluid swing and above average coordination and he should hit for a solid average to go with fairly regular home runs. Defensively he has a double plus arm behind home plate and generates quality pop times despite inconsistent footwork. Murphy’s framing isn’t always clean, but he should be good enough there to carve out a role as an everyday catcher. —KC

Peter Alonso, 1B, New York Mets (Triple-A Las Vegas)
If you are going to be a R/R first base prospect, you better hit a whole bunch, and Alonso has done just that so far in his pro career. He’s just as qualified to man first base for the major league Mets as he is for the Futures Game roster, although he’s arguably surrounded by more talent here. Alonso has calmed down his set-up and swing since his pro debut without giving up any of his 70-grade raw power. It’s not a profile with huge upside (and he’s still a below-average defender), but it might be the most major-league-ready one in the game. —JP

Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (Double-A Altoona)
Hayes is a potential plus glove at third base, but sometimes his bat gets overlooked because of the lack of pop he’s shown so far as a pro. The swing plane is very flat, but the bat speed is plus, and at worst he will provide plenty of doubles and good defense at the hot corner. And if he ever figures out how to lift the ball, he could be a monster. That’s a caveat for a lot of dudes nowadays, but there’s less squinting involved to get there with Hayes. —JP

Alex Kirilloff. OF, Minnesota Twins (High-A Fort Myers)– After sitting out the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery, Kirilloff spent the spring destroying Midwest League pitching. He’s since been promoted to Ft. Myers where the sweet swinging lefty continues to play well. Tons of athletic ability and potential for further growth give a profile of a power hitting corner outfielder. —Nathan Graham

Kyle Lewis, OF, Seattle Mariners (High-A Modesto)
Though Lewis has had some injury setbacks, he has been healthy since returning to Modesto this past May. His swing is not quite there yet and he has a tendency to do too much when there are runners on base, especially when they’re in scoring position. However, he’s been shaking off any rust that came from not playing regularly until May and being able to get back to form. Still a work in progress at the moment, but still promising. —JMR

Nathaniel Lowe, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays (Double-A Montgomery)
A big man with big power and some semblance of an ability to get to it. The former 13th-rounder torched the Florida State League to start the season, which is an uncommon boast for hitters, and he hasn’t missed a beat since shuffling on up to Double-A last month. It’s a prototypical cold-corner mashing profile, with the caveat that he has a chance to be really good in that role on account of an advanced approach and sneaky-good bat-to-ball skills for a man of his size and thunder. —WK

Buddy Reed, OF, San Diego Padres (High-A Lake Elsinore)
Simply, Reed has been A Guy so far this season. Hitting, fielding, stealing, all of it. He’s been a surprise prospect for the Padres and has been tearing up the Cal League. He mostly hits for contact, but can get an extra base hit here and there. Plus speed on the bases is why he’s got 33 steals on the season and only been caught seven times. He also has good range and instincts in left field. An underrated aspect of his defense is his arm—the accuracy and strength of his throws has lead to several outfield assists and if he didn’t get them out, he sure did try. He shows promise, but it’s also worth seeing if he makes the adjustment to Double-A San Antonio now that he’s been promoted. —JMR