Six soon-to-be stars to watch in Sunday's MLB All-Star Futures Game
By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer
At 3 p.m. ET Sunday, many of the best prospects in baseball will take the field in Denver for the 22nd edition of the All-Star Futures Game.
Since 1999, MLB has kicked off All-Star week with this game featuring the next wave of talent representing all 30 organizations, and it never fails to disappoint. Many of these prospects have never played on a big-league field before, which makes this a tremendous opportunity for fans to catch a glimpse of them in a major-league context.
Based on past Futures Game rosters, typically, at least three to five players go on to become MLB superstars.
Now, I can’t promise you which of the players in Sunday's edition will go on to be All-Stars or Hall of Famers, but there are six I am especially eager to watch.
Here are my picks to make a strong impression Sunday:
One of the best parts of the Futures Game is the show the hitters put on beforehand in batting practice, often using their power swings a little bit more than they would in a regular BP session.
There is no shortage of big-name hitting prospects in this year’s game, and they're sure to be launching balls out of Coors Field during Sunday’s BP, but I’m most excited to see the Tigers' Tork, whose prodigious power allowed him to smash BARRY BONDS’ home run records at Arizona State before he was selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 Draft.
The J-Rod Show has been on quite the tour this summer, with Denver just the latest stop for the overwhelmingly charismatic and likable young outfielder. I could spend this paragraph talking about how good he is at baseball, but I’d rather marvel at the fact that he’s done it this season while zig-zagging the country — and soon the globe.
Here's a quick timeline:
– May 4-27: Posted a .979 OPS in 21 games with Everett in the High-A Northwest League, which spans Washington and Oregon
– May 31-June 5: Played (and hit extremely well) for the Dominican Republic in the first round of Olympic qualifying in Florida
– June 8-16: Went back to Everett, posted a 1.029 OPS in seven games
– June 22-26: Played (and hit extremely well) for the Dominican Republic in the second round of Olympic qualifying in Mexico
– June 29-July 7: Promoted to Double-A Arkansas, posted a 1.120 OPS in first eight games
– July 11: Futures Game in Denver
– July 28: Dominican Republic vs. Japan in Tokyo
Yes, you read that right: Julio will be heading across the world to represent his country in the Olympic Games. He was by far the team's best player during qualifying, and the Mariners have given the green light for him to continue competing with his country.
I’m curious if he’s going to go back to Arkansas after the Futures Game or just head straight overseas, but wow, as cool as Sunday will be for Rodriguez, I can’t wait to see one of the best prospects in baseball in the Olympics! What a thing!
Has the hype for Dominguez — nicknamed "The Martian" and ludicrously compared to the likes of Mickey Mantle and Bo Jackson and Superman-In-Cleats — gotten a little out of hand? Of course! I’m just intensely curious about what this guy even looks like on the field.
Sure, we have our fair share of grainy backfield footage and some spicy Instagram clips, but so few people have gotten to see him play baseball, which is wild for a guy whose autographed cards are routinely selling for tens of thousands of dollars. After signing with the Yankees in 2019, Dominguez didn't play in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he’s about to be thrust onto the biggest possible stage for a prospect, becoming the first player to appear in the Futures Game before playing a full season of minor-league ball.
At 18, Dominguez will be the youngest Futures Gamer since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2017. To further put his age in perspective, Dominguez is younger than high school shortstops Marcelo Mayer and Jordan Lawlar, who are expected to be two of the first high school players taken Sunday in the 2021 MLB Draft.
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As much as it pains me, I’m going to keep the Yankees hype going here with Medina, a 22-year-old right-hander with some of the most electric stuff in the minors. Questions remain as to whether he’s going to throw enough strikes to stick as a starter, but in a game such as this — he’ll throw a single inning — it’s nearly a guarantee that we’ll see the maximum version of Medina’s arsenal.
You can expect triple digits on the heater, but I’m even more excited to see him snap off his plus-plus curveball.
Did I mention his changeup is ridiculous as well?
Speaking of individual pitches, if there’s a slider I can’t wait to see Sunday, it’s the one belonging to Meyer. His slider is a big part of what made him one of the top pitchers in the 2020 Draft coming out of the University of Minnesota. Even so, nearly every mock draft had the Marlins taking left-hander Asa Lacy out of Texas A&M with the third overall pick, so it was a bit of a shock to hear Meyer’s name called at No. 3.
So far, though, it’s looking like Miami had the right idea, as the right-hander has gone straight to Double-A and absolutely dominated, with a 1.67 ERA through his first 11 starts. It looks like he’s on the fast track to join Miami’s exciting young rotation.
As if Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows weren’t enough of a return from the infamous Chris Archer trade, Baz — who was barely 19 when the Rays acquired him from Pittsburgh — has blossomed into one of the more exciting pitching prospects in baseball and recently reached Triple-A. Long-haired Rays pitching prospects have a strong history in this game (Brent Honeywell Jr. won MVP in 2017), so I like Baz’s chances of making an impression. He’ll also be headed to Tokyo later this summer with Team USA.
So there you go. Tune in Sunday, and when one (or multiple) of these dudes becomes a big star in a few years, don't say I didn't warn you.
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He lives in D.C. but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
