miguel-vargas.jpg

Prospect rankings are great and all, but if you play in a typical redraft league, they're not the most practical tool. What you really want to know in those leagues is which prospects can help now.

To that end, I've put together this All-Rookie team, identifying the prospect at each position who should have the biggest Fantasy impact in 2023. Not all will necessarily be there from opening day, but many will be worth drafting and stashing even if they're not.

I've also designated alternates at each position, because who doesn't want more names?

Catcher

Minors: .260 BA (411 AB), 27 HR, .885 OPS, 70 BB, 123 K  
Majors: 2 for 12, HR, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K      
 
The bat is so far ahead of the glove that the Mets might be forced to make him a hybrid DH, but as long as Alvarez retains his catcher eligibility in Fantasy, the power should set him apart.

Alternate: Logan O'Hoppe, Angels
A power boost sent him rocketing up the prospect rankings and made him a prime midseason acquisition for the Angels, but it's O'Hoppe's .416 on-base percentage that stands out the most.

First base

Minors: .281 BA (278 AB), 12 HR, .889 OPS, 49 BB, 70 K  
Majors: .197 BA (76 AB), 5 HR, .766 OPS, 19 BB, 23 K
 
The on-base skills and extra-base pop that earned him comparisons to Freddie Freeman coming up through the minors were on display in his first major-league action and ultimately convinced the Red Sox to dump Eric Hosmer for him.

Alternate: Matt Mervis, Cubs
After leading the minors in extra-base hits and then thoroughly dismantling the Arizona Fall League, Mervis looked like he'd cruise to the first base job this spring, but the Cubs have seen fit to block him for now with Hosmer and Trey Mancini.

Second base

Minors: .274 BA (552 AB), 32 HR, .881 OPS, 74 BB, 167 K  
Second base doesn't have any immediate contributors in the prospect rankings, but with the Dodgers going the youth-movement route this year, Busch should be up at some point doing a fine Max Muncy impression.

Alternate: Edouard Julien, Twins
The Luis Arraez trade increases the likelihood the Twins will turn to Julien at some point, and while he's stretched defensively, he reached base at a .434 clip two years ago, a .441 clip last year and a .563 clip in the Arizona Fall League.

Third base

Minors: .297 BA (407 AB), 19 HR, 22 SB, .946 OPS, 79 BB, 116 K
Majors: .259 BA (116 AB), 4 HR, 1 SB, .788 OPS, 16 BB, 34 K

Though a natural shortstop, Henderson's talents are most needed at third base, where he picked up eligibility last year. It's between him and Corbin Carroll who's the first rookie drafted this year.  

Alternate: Josh Jung, Rangers
A 38.2 percent strikeout rate in his first major-league action took some of the wind out of Jung's sails, but he may have been rusty after missing much of the year with a torn labrum in his shoulder.

Shortstop

Minors: .319 BA (285 AB), 14 HR, 17 SB, .927 OPS, 27 BB, 66 K
Majors: .212 BA (33 AB), 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 BB, 9 K

Tovar's 2022 totals overstate his power a bit, but it hardly matters with him setting up shop at Coors Field, where his numbers could end up looking a lot like Tim Anderson's.

Alternate (tie): Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe, Yankees
Peraza got the first crack last year and has the better chance of making the opening day roster, but Volpe is considered the superior talent. They'll likely both be starting by season's end.

Outfield

Minors: .307 BA (362 AB), 24 HR, 31 SB, 1.036 OPS, 67 BB, 107 K
Majors: .260 BA (104 AB), 4 HR, 2 SB, .830 OPS, 8 BB, 31 K

The short-limbed speedster is a bundle of energy and has yet to be challenged really as a professional despite some lengthy injury absences in the minors.

Minors: .306 BA (461 AB), 19 HR, 22 SB, .898 OPS, 58 BB, 116 K   
Though the Cardinals already don't have enough outfield at-bats to go around, they're keeping the door open for the 20-year-old Walker, whose transcendent talent could make him the closest we get to this year's Julio Rodriguez.

Minors: .314 BA (481 AB), 23 HR, .895 OPS, 38 BB, 120 K  
The 24-year-old has traveled the world over -- first Cuba, then Japan, and now the U.S. -- refining his swing to get the most out of his natural power stroke, and it has him positioned to compete for the White Sox's right field job.

Alternates: Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox; Esteury Ruiz, Athletics
Both Yoshida and Ruiz are in line for big-league jobs this spring, but both have real limits to their upside, with Yoshida profiling as mostly a batting average and on-base specialist and Ruiz profiling as mostly a speedster.

Designated hitter

Minors: .304 BA (438 AB), 17 HR, 16 SB, .915 OPS, 71 BB, 76 K  
Majors: .170 BA (47 AB), 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 SB, 2 BB, 13 K 
 
Chances are Vargas will be playing somewhere -- or more likely, multiple somewheres -- as the Dodgers institute a youth movement this season, delivering a high batting average and above-average power as  he did at every stop in the minors. It remains to be seen where.

Alternate: Brett Baty, Mets
He's back to being the Mets' third baseman of the future now that Carlos Correa has signed elsewhere, but if Eduardo Escobar proves too valuable in the present, Baty's more immediate path may be left field.

Starting pitcher

Japan: 11-6, 1.89 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 148 IP, 50 BB, 159 K
The 30-year-old had trouble staying healthy in Japan and still needs to get acclimated to the U.S. game, but he has a fastball that pushes triple digits and a wipeout splitter nicknamed "ghost fork."

Minors: 6-2, 2.62 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 75 2/3 IP, 28 BB, 109 K  
The long-awaited payoff for the game's best pitching prospect would have come last June if he hadn't suffered a lat injury, but there's nothing more for him to accomplish in the minors.

Minors: 7-13, 6.31 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 132 2/3 IP, 46 BB, 132 K
Majors: 3-0, 1.48 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 24 1/3 IP, 7 BB, 24 K

Jameson's early major-league dominance shed some light on just how hitter-friendly the upper levels of the Diamondbacks system are, and his fastball/slider combo has him well positioned for whiffs.

Minors: 6-4, 2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 95 IP, 36 BB, 137 K
Majors: 2-2, 4.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 34 2/3 IP, 10 BB, 33 K

The funky left-hander kept minor-league hitters baffled by slinging the ball from weird angles and weird release points, and the strikeouts began showing up late in his major-league trial as well.

Minors: 6-4, 3.71 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 97 IP, 39 BB, 104 K  
Majors: 4.1, 6 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

The rebuilding Nationals have all but guaranteed Cavalli a spot already, and while the overall numbers may give you pause, he did have 2.10 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 in his final 13 minor-league starts.  

Alternates: Andrew Painter, Phillies; Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks; Ryan Pepiot, Dodgers
Painter is the one to dream on here, a 19-year-old who shoved all the way to Double-A last year. Pfaadt could follow in Jameson's footsteps early in year and probably has the more upside of the two, and Pepiot will continue to get chances for the Dodgers as he tries to iron out his control.

Relief pitcher

Minors: 9-4, 2.55 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 106 IP, 45 BB, 134 K  
Majors: 2-0, 0.89 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 20 1/3 IP, 7 BB, 22 K 
 
The Astros haven't left a rotation spot open for Brown, which may force him to the bullpen early. His control issues magically went away in his first taste of the majors last year, giving him a chance to develop into a rotation mainstay.

Minors: 0-0, 1.69 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 21 1/3 IP, 6 BB, 39 K
Majors: 1-2, 2.28 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 23 2/3 IP, 12 BB, 23 K

With a 1.64 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 14.4 K/9 in the minors the last two years, Morris makes for a sneaky sleeper who often doesn't appear on prospect lists, but his injury history could force him to the bullpen long-term.

Alternate: DL Hall, Orioles
Speaking of injury histories, Hall has a lengthy one of his own and still hasn't figured out how to throw strikes consistently. He could emerge as a late-inning force if the Orioles finally give up on him as a starter.