Predicting When Baseball's Super-Hyped Prospects Will Invade MLB

Several MLB teams bucked recent trends by putting top prospects on their Opening Day rosters despite service-time implications.

Included in that group were several players who rank near the top of Bleacher Report's recently released top-50 prospect list:

• No. 2: SS Fernando Tatis Jr.
• No. 3: OF Eloy Jimenez
• No. 6: OF Victor Robles
• No. 9: RHP Chris Paddack

So when will the rest of the league's top-tier prospects arrive in the big leagues?

Ahead, we've tried our hand at predicting when the 10 best prospects who have yet to make their MLB debuts will arrive in The Show.

B/R Prospect Rank: 15

MacKenzie Gore checks all the boxes of a future staff ace.

He has a strong 6'3", 195-pound frame, a high leg kick that adds deception to his repeatable mechanics and a polished four-pitch mix that he commands well across the board. With a mid-90s fastball, a plus-plus curveball and an above-average changeup and slider, he has some of the best stuff of any pitching prospect in baseball.

The 20-year-old spent last season in Single-A, though blisters sent him to the injured list twice and limited him to 60.2 innings.

As long as the blister issue doesn't become a nagging problem, Gore could breeze through the upper levels of the minors, arriving in San Diego just in time to help pitch the Padres into legitimate contention.

ETA: June 2021

B/R Prospect Rank: 14

After he missed the 2017 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Alex Kirilloff exploded back onto the prospect scene with a huge offensive campaign. The 21-year-old hit .348/.392/.578 with 44 doubles, seven triples, 20 home runs and 101 RBI in 130 games between Single-A and High-A.

Just how good are his offensive tools?

According to MLB.com, "If it weren't for Blue Jays phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a strong argument can be made that Kirilloff is the best hitter in the Minor Leagues."

With just a half-season above Single-A under his belt, he's still at least a year off. But a similar performance at Double-A could leave him knocking on the door.

ETA: June 2020

B/R Prospect Rank: 12

Among pitchers, only Forrest Whitley (No. 7) and Chris Paddack (No. 9) ranked higher on our top-50 prospects list than Oakland Athletics left-hander Jesus Luzardo.

The Washington Nationals rolled the dice on Luzardo in the third round of the 2016 draft despite the fact he underwent Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school. He impressed upon returning to the mound and was promptly traded to the A's in the deal that sent Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to the Nationals.

During his first full season in the Oakland organization, he went 10-5 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 129 strikeouts in 109.1 innings. He also closed out the year with four starts at Triple-A.

With three plus pitches and excellent command, he looks like the future ace of the Oakland staff.

He might have pushed for a spot on the Opening Day roster if not for a shoulder strain at the end of March that will shut him down for four-to-six weeks. 

ETA: June 1. This will give him time to get a few starts in the minors once he returns to action. The A's will have him on a short leash, regardless.

B/R Prospect Rank: 11

After he hit .362/.423/.565 with 59 extra-base hits between Single-A and High-A in his full-season debut, Bo Bichette entered the 2018 season with unreasonably high expectations. As a result, his .286/.343/.453 line with 43 doubles, seven triples, 11 home runs and 32 steals at Double-A in his age-20 season was viewed as a mild disappointment.

That's ridiculous.

The kid can flat-out rake, and those are fantastic numbers for someone his age at that level. No one expected him to keep up with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., yet he has a chance to be a star in his own right.

Aside from his work at the plate, Bichette has also made strides defensively, to the point that it's no longer a foregone conclusion he'll need to move off shortstop in the majors.

The Blue Jays opted against promoting Vlad Jr. last season despite his otherworldly offensive numbers. So even if Bichette looks ready by midseason, he might have to wait until 2020 to make his debut.

ETA: April 2020

B/R Prospect Rank: 10

Wander Franco has a good chance to become the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball between now and his eventual arrival in Tampa Bay.

With a strong showing in his full-season debut, he could ascend to that top spot by midseason, once Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Eloy Jimenez and Victor Robles each exhaust their prospect status.

The switch-hitting Franco will be 18 for the entire 2019 season, and he's already made his stateside debut, posting a phenomenal .351/.418/.587 line with 11 home runs while leading the Appalachian League in hits (85) and RBI (57) en route to Player of the Year honors.

MLB.com gives him a 70-grade hit tool, and he has plus speed and legitimate raw power to boot. The question now is just how aggressive the Rays will be.

As MLB.com wrote, "While the Rays have historically employed a patient approach in developing young talent, Franco could be the rare exception, as many have already identified him as the next teenage wunderkind to reach the Major Leagues."

He could be the Vlad Jr. of the 2021 season...if he doesn't arrive sooner.

ETA: April 2021

B/R Prospect Rank: 8

Nick Senzel looked close to MLB-ready after he hit .321/.391/.514 with 57 extra-base hits in 119 games between High-A and Double-A during the 2017 season. His big league debut almost certainly would have come at some point last year had a fractured right index finger not prematurely ended his campaign in June.

Back healthy, Senzel is now learning a new position, and he'll head to Triple-A for some reps in center field. A shortstop in college, he's blocked across the Cincinnati infield by Scooter Gennett at second base, Jose Peraza at shortstop and Eugenio Suarez at third base.

Regardless of where he eventually settles defensively, it's his bat that makes him one of baseball's top prospects.

"Senzel uses a combination of strength and bat speed, along with an advanced approach at the plate, to be an extremely dangerous hitter from the right side," MLB.com wrote. "He makes consistent hard contact, doesn't strike out a lot and draws walks, which points to a future of hitting over .300 and perhaps competing for batting titles."

ETA: May 4. This would give him exactly one month in the minors to hone his skills in the outfield before joining a Reds team with legitimate hopes of contention.

B/R Prospect Rank: 7

Forrest Whitley has absolutely electric stuff, and MLB.com offered up the following breakdown of his four-pitch arsenal:

"He can make hitters look bad with his entire repertoire, starting with a 93-98 mph fastball with natural life (heavy sink down or cutting action up in the zone) and a devastating changeup with fade and depth. He has a pair of high-spin, power breaking balls with a 12-to-6 curveball and a late-biting slider, and he can turn the latter into a true cutter in the low 90s."

The 21-year-old was limited to just eight starts last season, sandwiched between a 50-game suspension for violating the MiLB drug policy and minor oblique and lat injuries. Otherwise, he might have already made his MLB debut.

Even with average command, his stuff is good enough to make him a top-flight starter. His impending arrival was one of the reasons the Astros let Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton walk this offseason while opting against any big-ticket additions.

ETA: July 15. This is the first game after the All-Star break in which the Astros will need a No. 5 starter. The front office might want to get a look at Whitley before deciding what to do at the trade deadline.

B/R Prospect Rank: 5

Royce Lewis moved onto the fast track last season with a .315/.368/.485 line that included 23 doubles, nine home runs and 22 steals in 26 attempts over 75 games at Single-A.

That performance earned him an early promotion to High-A, where he continued to hold his own against significantly older competition.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft already has four above-average tools, and he's growing into his over-the-fence power. The finished product could be a perennial 30/30 threat who hits for a high batting average and plays quality defense up the middle.

The Minnesota Twins have no reason to rush him, as incumbent shortstop Jorge Polanco is signed to a long-term deal. If last season is any indication, the 19-year-old's performance will dictate the pace at which he moves through the system.

ETA: June 2021

B/R Prospect Rank: 4

Jo Adell has a special set of tools.

Los Angeles Angels director of minor league operations Mike LaCassa gushed about the progress the 2017 first-rounder has made in his short time with the organization while talking to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic last September:

"He has one of the most exciting skill sets that I've ever been around in the minor leagues. He has electric, explosive tools. The raw power is a future 80, top of the charts raw power. This is a player in just his first full season, and he's just out of high school. To be able to play at three different levels, Low-A, High-A, and now Double-A, and to excel at all of them as a first-year player out of high school is really putting him in the top tier of minor league seasons among all of minor league baseball. We are very excited about the progress he has made this year, and it's special to watch."

All told, Adell hit .290/.355/.543 with 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 15 steals over three minor league levels last season, which included 17 games at Double-A. He doesn't turn 20 until April 8.

A strong showing in the upper levels of the minors could make him one of the AL Rookie of the Year front-runners for 2020.

ETA: May 2020

B/R Prospect Rank: 1

An oblique injury at the start of March saved the Toronto Blue Jays from having to answer service-time questions about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The 20-year-old phenom has since resumed baseball activities and is set to kick off the 2019 season at Triple-A Buffalo.

After he hit a robust .381/.437/.636 while reaching Triple-A last season, he has nothing left to prove in the minors. Even if he's below average defensively, he has the offensive tools to be a generational talent.

With an 80-grade hit tool and 70-grade power, he's ready to take the league by storm.

ETA: April 21. That's game No. 23 for the Blue Jays. Ronald Acuna Jr. made his debut in game No. 23 for the Atlanta Braves last season. Seems fitting.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.