World Team infield has special feeling
MIAMI -- In the history of the World, there might never have been an infield like the one seen Sunday at Marlins Park.The history of the Team World roster in the All-Star Futures Game, that is.
MIAMI -- In the history of the World, there might never have been an infield like the one seen Sunday at Marlins Park.
The history of the Team World roster in the All-Star Futures Game, that is.
The World infield in this year's version might someday be seen as the best in the history of the annual midsummer prospect showcase. It might even be thought of that way already. The World boasts three top 15 overall prospects in
Before the game, World manager and five-time All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria said he didn't really have to overthink his lineup.
"That's easy," he said. "They know how to play the game. They know how to play the game because they're All-Stars. They wouldn't be here if they weren't. They just have to play the game. There are so many talents that we just have to sit back and hope everything will go well. We just tell them to hit and go."
But it isn't enough to say the World infield is talented. Since its inception, the whole point of the Futures Game is to bring together talented young players and put them on the big stage that is All-Star week. What makes the members of this group truly special is how close they seem to be to becoming true superstars at the next level.
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Moncada, the reigning Futures Game MVP, has been hailed as the sport's next great five-tool star since he signed for a record $31.5 million out of Cuba in 2015. The 22-year-old second baseman has mostly lived up to the hype, surging to the Majors with the Red Sox in his second full season and putting himself in position to do the same this year -- this time as the cornerstone of the White Sox rebuild.
To his right, Rosario has been a defensive wunderkind since he entered the Mets system but is turning into an offensive force with a .327 average for Triple-A Las Vegas. At a time when the shortstop position has perhaps never been deeper in the Majors, Rosario is a good bet to be the next big thing, whenever the calls to bring him to Flushing are finally answered.
Devers and Guerrero are more known for their bats, but both sluggers can be downright thunderous, especially when age is taken into consideration. The top Red Sox prospect has a .944 OPS with 18 homers, despite being the youngest regular player in the Eastern League. He's expected to be Boston's long-term solution at third, perhaps as early as the playoff stretch. The top Blue Jays prospect was hitting .316/.409/.480 as the youngest player in the Midwest League. He's staying in Florida after the Futures Game with a promotion to Class A Advanced Dunedin. Though MLB.com's prospect ranking update isn't coming out until later this month, one can expect the teenager to make a jump based on the way he's handled full-season pitching at such a young age.
Rubbing shoulders with players who easily possess All-Star potential isn't lost on the prospects themselves.
"For me, this represents a lot because when you are here it's supposed to be the best prospects in the systems between all the teams," Moncada said through an interpreter. "I feel very happy because of that, and I have experience the last few years. I know the atmosphere and how this event is going to be. I'm glad for them, too. Some of them were here last year, but that's special."
"I just feel happy because I know we have a lot of talent in this infield," Devers said, also through an interpreter. "I just want to take and enjoy this moment and enjoy this experience. You don't have to make an adjustment, just play baseball the way you know how to play."
One would have to do a little digging to find a Futures Game infield that matches this World squad for realized potential. The 2014 U.S. team claimed the last two National League Rookies of the Year in
The best all-around infield might have belonged to the U.S. in 2011 when it had future All-Stars at all four spots -- first baseman
Yet this World team feels like it could find its place among the best groups of players at this event, which has been held every year since 1999. Maybe it's because you don't have to squint to see All-Star potential for Moncada, Rosario, Devers and Guerrero; and for the first three, that could come as early as next year's midseason classic, given their trajectories toward the Majors. Don't sleep on the likes of
So is there value in seeing the big names share the same dirt? The players tend to measure themselves against the heat coming from opposing pitchers rather than teammates but said it can be fun to play next to other big names, especially up the middle, where double play partnerships require some chemistry. Moncada didn't expect it'd take long for Rosario to mesh.
"That doesn't take too long because that's just baseball," he said. "You have to know what you're doing and what other people like to throw or where they like to get the ball. But that's something you can get to know in the BP, that's not something that you have to work too hard. Today's just about playing and having fun."
Renteria's advice was a little more succinct.
"Today, if you get a ground ball, just get it to the right spot," he laughed.
There's a decent chance Moncada, Rosario, Devers and Guerrero could share an infield again some day, though it's more likely to happen when the teams are split into American and National League sides, rather than U.S. and World.
Asked if he could pick a player he was most looking forward to playing with, Moncada was noncommittal, only because he had so many options.
"All of them," he said, "because like I said before, we are the best of the best in the Minors."
Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.