MLB All-Star Futures Showcase: Who You NEED To Know
“I don’t want to highlight the players who played well in this game particularly. Instead, I want to highlight the ones that the casual fan needs to know. Yes, we’ve covered a majority of these players in the past 8 months, but here are the four that the casual fan should continue to watch for over the next 6 months.”
By Sal Corso: July 15, 2024
The MLB All-Star Showcase game is a great opportunity for the casual baseball fan to get a glimpse into the potential future stars of the game. However, for the die-hard baseball fan and/or card collector, we’ve heard of and watched these prospects for some time now. Because of this, I don’t want to highlight the players who played well in this game particularly. Instead, I want to cover the ones that the casual fan needs to know. Yes, we’ve covered a majority of these players in the past 8 months, but here are the four that the casual fan should continue to watch for over for the rest of the 2024 season.
Samuel Basallo, Baltimore Orioles
2TB Score: 80
We’ve mentioned his name plenty a time. He will be the #1 prospect in baseball going into 2025. If he stays with the Orioles past this years’ trade deadline, it will make a historic #1 overall prospect run for the Orioles (Rutschman, Henderson, Holliday, Basallo). Basallo did not do anything out of this world during the game, but he did get to participate in the inaugural skills showcase. He will have more time in the spotlight shortly, and you will continue to hear his name. The lefty is hitting .274 with 12 HR and 38 RBI in 78 Games at Double-A, and yes, he’s still in his teenage years (19).
Justin Crawford, Philadelphia Phillies
2TB Score: 78
We love Justin. He’s a local hometown kid who impressed us at our first Day at the Park for the Jersey Shore Blueclaws. He has MLB leadoff hitter written all over. And that’s exactly where he hit for the NL team. Not only did he hit a laser single in the 3rd, he also made a beautiful diving catch in the 1st to save (at least) a run off the bat of Spencer Jones. Crawford can make an impact with his bat, glove and feet and that’s exactly what he did on Saturday. The lefty is on a tear recently, hitting 17/39 (.435) to bring his season line to .301 6 HR 35 RBI 27 SB.
Max Clark, Detroit Tigers
2TB Score: 78
The Tigers have the most wide-range of results from their recent 1st round draft picks. Riley Greene & Jackson Jobe (so far), looking great. Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson? Not so much. Max Clark is looking to add to the former, successful group, and he wants to do that with flash. Like Crawford, Clark led off for the AL team, and outside of one strikeout, he hit the ball well all day. He played the whole game and ended the day with a sharp liner to left. At only 19 years old, Clark has been on a tear in Single-A as of late, hitting .333 with 2 HR and 13 RBI in his last 10 games before the all-star break. Expect him to see High-A before the end of season.
Jaison Chourio, Cleveland Guardians
2TB Score: 75
Ah, finally some production on this list! We highlighted earlier this season how Jaison is showing similar signs that his brother did at such a young age. On Saturday he started (and finished) some much needed action for the quiet American League Team. He hit a hard ground-ball up the middle to score Spencer Jones from 2nd. Jaison can hit, now let’s see his power develop (only 3 HR in 71 Games). That will likely come from High-A once he gets his well-deserved promotion from A-ball, where he’s hitting .272 with a .394 OBP and 20 Doubles.
Check out where we have each of these players ranked, including their 2TB Potential Scores on our Ranking Sheet!
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