As each MLB season get underway, there are players that particularly spark Baseball Roundtable’s interest: young prospects or veteran players hoping to deliver on expectations; players who are particularly crucial to their team’s prospects for the season; players who offer The Roundtable’s favored combination of Leather and Lumber; retiring players making a last go-round; or players making adjustments to new positions, new roles or new teams. You get the idea. In this post, Baseball Roundtable will present its team-by-team American League Watch List for 2023, one (or two) players from each AL team that The Roundtable will pay particular attention to over the coming months. For the previously published National League Watch List, click here.
Here is Baseball Roundtable’s 2023 Junior Circuit Watch List.
Baltimore Orioles- Andy Rutschman. Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez
Orioles top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez. Photo: Jeffrey Hayes, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
With the Orioles the watch list is all about youth.
C Andy Rutschman (25-years-old) lived up to all the hype surrounding his rookie campaign – going .254-13-42 in 113 games, but even more important providing s solid presence behind the plate. Baseball Roundtable expects to see offensive growth in 2023, while Rutschman’s defense and game management remain top notch.
The Orioles also expect good things from 3B Gunnar Henderson (who can also play SS). Henderson hit .297-19-76, with 22 steals (as a 21-year-old) in 112 games at Double-A and Triple-A a year ago. He also looked comfortable in 34 late-season games with the Orioles, with a .259-4-18 stat line (and, remember, he was just 21). It will be fun to watch his growth as a major leaguer in 2023.
Finally, there is 23-tear-old RHP Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles’ top pitching prospect. In five minor-league seasons, Rodriguez has gone 25-9, 2.49 in 70 games (69 starts – one of those in 2023). The 6’5” 230-pounder has a dominant mound presence – to go with a mid-90s fastball (that can reach triple digits), an effective mid-80s change up, a mid-80s slider and a work-in-progress, low-80s curve. In 296 minor-league innings, Rodriguez has fanned 421 batters (102 walks). Grayson made his first MLB start April 5 of this season, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk over five innings (five strikeouts). More to come.
This trio should help keep the Orioles competitive in 2023 – and are solid building blocks for the future.
Boston Red Sox – Masataka Yoshida, Chris Sale and Tristan Casas
The Red Sox finished last (78-84) in the tough AL East last season and they need considerable help if they are going to move out of the basement.
The Roundtable will be watching three players – a Japanese import, a veteran and a rookie – who could contribute to that effort.
The Red Sox signed Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a reportedly five-year $90 million deal last December. The 28-year-old is coming off a .335-21-88 season (119 games) in Japan and has shown a combination of power and plate discipline in Nippon Professional Baseball. In seven seasons there, Yoshida averaged .326, with 135 home runs. Perhaps more important, he walked more times (427) than he struck out (307). It’ll be fun to see how he adjusts to the American game.
Veteran southpaw Chris Sale, a seven-time All Star, has finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting in six of 12 MLB seasons. Between mid- August of 2019 and Opening Day 2023, however, he has started just 11 games and pitched only 48 1/3 innings (elbow injury, Tommy John surgery, Covid, right-rib stress fracture, broken finger, broken wrist). The Red Sox say he’s healthy now. If he can return to form, it would give Boston a much-needed boost.
Triston Casas, at 23-years-old, looks to have earned the 1B slot in the lineup. A 2018 first round draft pick, he’s shown both power and plate discipline as a minor-leaguer. In 2022, he went .281-12-41 in 76 games at Rookie-Level and Triple-A (.273-11-38 in 72 Triple-A games). That earned him a September call up – and while he hit just .192 (27 games), he did poke five home runs and put up a .358 on-base percentage (19 walks/23 strikeouts). Casas hit .327-3-9 in 19 2023 Spring Training games. We’ll see if he’s ready to contribute at the major league level.
Chicago White Sox – Oscar Colas
The White Sox signed Cuban outfielder Oscar Colas in January of 2022. Although he’s only 24-years old, Colas has been around – playing in both the Cuban National Series and Nippon Professional Baseball. He showed his abilities right from the get-go. In 2022, he moved from High-A, to Double-A to Triple-A – hitting a combined .314-23-79 in 117 games. Look from him to find success in a White Sox uniform in 2023.
Cleveland Guardians – Jose Ramirez and Emmanuel Clase
On the Guardians squad, I intend to enjoy watching a couple of proven performers.
Third baseman Jose Ramirez holds the key to the Guardians’ offense. In 2022, the switch-hitter went .280-29-126, with 20 steals. He also drew 69 walks and fanned just 82 times. Since 2017, Ramirez has made four All Star teams, averaged .280, hit 20 or more home runs five times (only missing in the Covid-shortened 2020 season), drove in 100+ runs three times and led the league in doubles twice. It’ll be a pleasure to watch this steady switch-hitter go to work again.
Also on the watch list is 25-year-old closer Emmanuel Clase. The Guardians (then Indians) acquired him a trade with the Rangers before the 2020 season. (The Indians got Clase and Delino DeShields for Corey Kluber and cash.) It worked out pretty well for the Guardians. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Clase went 7-9, with 66 saves and a minuscule 1.33 ERA. Unlike The Roundtable, opponents are not happy to watch Clase come to the hill.
Detroit Tigers …. Miguel Cabrera
Photo: Jeffrey Hayes, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Only one choice here. Have to watch future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera in his twenty-first – and final – MLB season. Coming into the season, Cabrera, a two-time MVP and 2012 AL Triple Crown winner (.330-44-139) had a total of 3,088 hits (25th all time), 507 home runs (27th all time) and 1,847 RBI (14th all time). Going into this final season, he needs:
- 100 hits to make the top-16 all time;
- 14 home runs to make the top-20 all time;
- 62 RBI to make number-12 all time.
The Numbers Game
In his first 15 MLB seasons, Miguel Cabrera averaged .321 – and averaged 32 home runs and 11 RBI per season.
It will be fun to watch Cabrera climb up the stats ladder as he makes his farewell tour.
Houston Astros – Jose Abreu and Hunter Brown
The 2023 Astros look a lot like the 2022 versions (Why not? They won 106 regular-season games and a World Series title). So, they are worth watching. They are going to be good. With that in mind, I decided to put the “new guy” – free-agent-signee 1B Jose Abreu – on the watch list. His veteran bat will fit right into the middle of the Astros’ lineup – and he should get lots of opportunities to drive in runs. What the Roundtable will be looking for is to see if the short left-field distances at Minute Maid Park will help Abreu return to 30-homer form. Last season, he hit .304-15-75 in 157 games for the White Sox. Abreu, however, has hit 30 or more long balls in five of his first nine MLB seasons and driven in 100+ runs in six. I look for a .290-30-100 season.
I also be watching prospect RHP Hunter Brown, whom I expected to make some noise in the Astros’ rotation before the 2023 season is over. Brown was a 2019 fifth-round draft choice (out of Wayne State University, where he went 9-0, 2.21 in his final season). In three minor-league seasons, he has gone 17-11, 2.40 with 134 strikeouts in 106 innings. He earned a call up last September and went 2-0, with a 0.89 ERA in 20 1/3 innings (seven appearances/two starts).
Kansas City Royals – Vinnie Pasquantino
Okay, I admit, I love seeing “Pasquantino” across the back of an MLB uniform. Plus, the 24-year-old (an eleventh-round pick in the 2019 draft) has shown solid power and a good eye at the plate. In three minor-league seasons, he hit .292, with 56 long balls in 246 games – and walked 131 times, while fanning 143.
Last season, he hit .277-18-70 in 73 games at Triple-A (with 40 walks and just 39 strikeouts) – earning a late-June call up. In 72 games for Kansas City, he went .295-10-26, with 35 walks and 34 whiffs. He’s big-time ready.
Kinda Shifty if You Ask Me
Pasquantino gets extra credit as a watch list candidate, given the fact that the shift was used against him in 93 percent of his 2022 at bats. The Roundtable will be watching to see if the new rules boost his numbers.
Los Angeles Angels – Shohei Ohtani
Photo: ogami Kariya, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
No challenge here, How can you not pick a player who seems to set some new “first” every time out. Last season, Ohtani hit .273-34-95 with 11 steals – and went 15-9, 2.22 with 219 strikeouts in 166 innings on the mound. Why wouldn’t you want to watch a player with the following on his resume – a 15-win and 200-strikeout season as a pitcher and a 46-homer, 100-RBI, 26-steal season as a hitter/baserunner. Ohtani is another MVP award waiting to happen (he won the AL MVP in 2021).
More “Firsts” for Ohtani
On April 5, Shohei Ohtani became the first MLB player to be hit with a pitch clock violation both as a pitcher and a hitter in the same game. In the first inning of his start on the mound against the Mariners, he was called for a pitch clock violation (a called ball) for taking too long to deliver a pitch to Mariners’ cleanup hitter Cal Raleigh (with two on and no out). Raleigh eventually fanned on a 3-2 pitch.
In the seventh, facing the Mariners’ Andres Munoz, with two on and one out. Ohtani was penalized (a called strike) for taking too long to get set in the batter’s box. Ohtani rapped an RBI single in the at bat.
Ohtani finished the game one-for-two at the plate (with two walks and an RBI), and got the victory after throwing six innings of three-hit, one-run ball (four walks eight strikeouts).
Minnesota Twins – Byron Buxton
It all about health with the Twins’ Byron Buxton – a Gold Glove defender and an offensive force (speed and power). He is also oft-injured (due partly to his all-out style of play). Healthy, he’s legitimate CF Gold Glover and 30-30 (HR/SB) guy. However, in his first eight MLB seasons, Buxton played 100 or more games in a campaign just once. Still, he has shown what he can do when he’s in the lineup. In 2021, Buxton hit .306 and scored 50 runs in just 61 games. In 2022, he poled 28 home runs in 92 games. In 2017, his only season of at least 100 games played, he swiped 29 bases in 140 games and won a Gold Glove for his defensive work in CF. The Twins know how having Buxton in the lineup can change the game and have put emphasis on keeping him in the lineup (more time at DH). Looking forward to seeing how that works out.
New York Yankees – DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Volpe
Lots to watch in New York – Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole are probably at the top of most fan lists. For the Roundtable, I’ll be watching veteran DH LeMahieu and rookie Anthony Volpe.
The 34-year-old LeMahieu is a two-time AL batting champion, who can play around the infield (LeMahieu has won four Gold Gloves, three at second base and one as a utility player). From 2011 through 2020, LeMahieu averaged .305. In 2020-22, he average .265. The Roundtable will be watching to see if LeMahieu can up his game (close in on his career .297 average) in 2023. A productive LeMahieu gives the Yankees not only another solid offensive weapon, but considerable lineup flexibility.
I’ll also be watching 22-year-old rookie Anthony Volpe, who won the SS job coming out of Spring Training. A first-round pick (right out of high school) in the 2019 MLB Draft, Volpe has shown power and speed in three minor-league seasons. In 2022, at Double-A and Triple-A, Volpe hit .249,with 21 home runs, 65 RBI, 86 runs scored and 50 steals in 12 games.
DJ LeMahieu is the only player (since 1900) to win a batting title in both the AL and NL. (.348 for the Rockies in 2016 and .364 for the Yankees in 2020).
Oakland Athletics – Ryan Noda
A Rule Five Selection (from the Dodgers) last December, the 27-year-old Ryan Noda could provide some much-needed power to the A’s lineup. In the Dodgers’ farm system (at Double-A and Triple-A), Noda hit 54 home runs and drove in 168 over the past two seasons. His 2022 Triple-A numbers were .259-25-90, with 20 steals. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles major-league pitching.
Seattle Mariners – Julio Rodriguez
Mariners’ CF Julio Rodriguez was the runaway winner of the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2022 – receiving 29 of 30 first placed votes. (For those who need to know such stuff, the other first-place vote went to Orioles’ C Adley Rutschman.) Rodriguez also finished seventh in the MLB voting.
Rodriguez is a five-tool player (.284-28-75, with 25 steals in 132 games, with a strong arm and ground-covering defense). The 22-year-old is a youngster worth watching, who may very well win an MVP award in the near future. For 2023, .a 30-30 season would not surprise me,
Tampa Bay Rays – Kevin Cash
I supposed it’s odd to pick a manager here, but Kevin Cash has proven has proven his ability to keep Tampa Bay competitive – without the “cash” available to other AL East clubs. It’s always interesting to watch how Cash juggles his lineup and pitching strategies to get the most out of the resources on hand.
Kevin Cash was selected the American league in 2020 and 2021, joining the Braves’ Bobby Cox as the only MLB manage to capture the award in consecutive seasons.
Texas Rangers – Jacob deGrom and Josh Jung
When he’s healthy, Rangers’ free-agent-signee Jacob deGrom is one of the most dominant pitchers in the game (I can offer a Rookie of the Year and two Cy Young Awards as evidence). Ahh, but those health issues. The right-hander has has not made more than 15 starts or pitched more than 92 innings in a season since 2019, when he went 11-8, 2.43 in 32 starts (204 innings) for the Mets. The Roundtable will be watching to see if the Rangers got the pitcher who averaged 30 starts per season from 2015 through 2019 or the one who averaged 13 starts per season in 2021-22 (I left out the short 2020 season).
I’ll also be keeping an eye on Josh Jung, who looks to be given a shot at the 3B position, despite only 153 minor-league games on his resume. In those 153 games, he went a sterling .311-30-118. Jung earned a call up – last September and hit five homers in 102 MLB at bats. However, his .204 average and 39 strikeouts to four walks seem problematic. Still, he had strong spring.314-3-6 ion 19 games (51 at bats) and bears watching.
Toronto Blue Jays – The Outfield
Blue Jays fans – and Blue Jays pitchers – will enjoy watching the revamped outfield. This season, the Blue Jays’ garden will feature three superior defenders. Returnee George Springer – moving from CF to RF to make room for free-agent-signee Kevin Kiermaier (a three-time Gold Glover). Joining these two will be another superior defender, LF Daulton Varsho, acquired in a trade with the Diamondbacks. The three will boost Toronto’s defense, Spring and Varsho should also provide some power and Kiermaier bring some speed to the base paths. It’s on defense, however, where the trio is worth a watch. If the Blue Jays overtake the Yankees in 2023, these three will play a major roe.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; MLB.com
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