10 young studs who could be 2023 All-Stars

On July 19, 2021, Andrés Giménez enjoyed an off-day for the Columbus Clippers, where he and his teammates spent a Monday recharging after a six-game away series against the St. Paul Saints. At the time of the off-day, Giménez was batting .260 with Columbus and .179 with Cleveland, which had demoted him to Triple-A Columbus two months earlier.

A year later, Giménez was the starting second baseman for the American League in the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, where he wowed the nation with a jaw-dropping behind-the-back assist to start what could arguably be the double play of the year.

Giménez wasn’t the only one of this year's All-Stars with an overnight success story. A year prior to tossing a scoreless frame for the AL squad, Oakland’s Paul Blackburn was resting his arm after tossing five scoreless innings the day before for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. Ditto for Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez, who was on the inactive list with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers before becoming the story of the Home Run Derby a year later.

With that year-to-year difference in mind, here are 10 young players who could make a Giménez-sized leap to being an All-Star next year.

Note: All statistics are through the All-Star break.

Michael Harris II, CF, Braves
.283/.319/.497, 8 HR, 26 RBIs, 10 SB
Last year, the Braves remade their outfield on the fly at the Trade Deadline after star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL. This year, they’ve relied on Harris. With Acuña still recovering from last year’s injury and Adam Duvall and Travis Demeritte struggling, the Braves called up Harris on May 28.

In the time since he was called up, Harris has been worth 1.9 fWAR, which is tied for the fourth-highest mark among outfielders in that time frame. Harris’ star power was on display in June when he hit .347 with four homers, four steals, 16 RBIs, 18 runs scored and a .945 OPS en route to being named the NL Rookie of the Month.

Hunter Greene, SP, Reds
3-11, 5.78 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 113 K in 90 1/3 IP
While Greene has had an up-and-down rookie year, the electric hurler still has all the makings of an All-Star.

No start gave further evidence of that hypothesis than on April 16, when Greene -- who was making his second big league start -- threw 39 of his 80 pitches over 100 mph in a loss to the Dodgers.

In total, Greene’s fastball averages 98.5 mph, the top mark in baseball among pitchers who have faced at least 200 batters.

Gavin Lux, 2B, Dodgers
.292/.369/.415, 4 HR, 22 RBIs
It only seems like a matter of time until Lux is named to an All-Star team. The former top prospect is finally getting the opportunity for everyday playing time this year, and he's making the most of the opportunity, as his 2.3 bWAR is sixth on a stacked Los Angeles roster.

Despite mostly hitting in the nine-hole this year, Lux is striking out less (his chase rate is in the 91st percentile), using the entire field (41% of his hits have gone up the middle) and hitting for contact (.346 wOBA).

Lux’s production is finally matching up with his potential after compiling at 82 OPS+ from 2019-21 in 144 games.

Brendan Donovan, INF, Cardinals
.287/.395/.389, 2 HR, 30 RBIs
What can’t Donovan do? Since being called up at the end of April, the rookie has tallied more than 10 appearances at first base, second base, third base, left field and right field while batting .287 in 258 plate appearances.

While Donovan doesn’t hit the ball exceptionally hard, he ranks above the 70th percentile in strikeout rate, whiff rate, walk rate and chase rate, and he has provided much-needed versatility for a Cardinals team that already boasts super utilityman Tommy Edman.

Oneil Cruz, SS, Pirates
.204/.240/.398, 4 HR, 17 RBIs, 4 SB
Cruz’s All-Star potential has been on display since he scalded a ball 118.2 mph in his MLB debut -- the hardest hit by a Pirate in the Statcast era. He doubled down in his debut this season, as he hit a double 112.9 mph, reached 96.7 mph on an assist and recorded an elite sprint speed of 31.5 mph.

Three weeks later, Cruz let loose a 98.7 mph throw, which set the mark for the fastest recorded infield assist since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

Cruz’s 6-foot-7 frame is oozing with potential, and it’s not hard to imagine him mashing, sprinting and throwing his way to next year’s Midsummer Classic in Seattle.

Logan Gilbert, SP, Mariners
10-3, 2.76 ERA, 1.153 WHIP, 104 K in 111 IP
One of the more notable snubs on this year’s All-Star team, Gilbert has the stats worthy of Midsummer Classic consideration. Among AL starting pitchers, Gilbert ranks tied for 13th in fWAR (1.9), eighth in ERA, fifth in innings and tied for eighth in strikeouts -- stats he compiled all while being in the bottom 10th percentile in hard-hit percentage.

While opponents have averaged .253 off Gilbert’s fastball, he’s been able to counter that with an arsenal of offspeed pitches, including a slider that’s primarily thrown to righties (.229 opponent batting average), a changeup that’s thrown almost exclusively to lefties (.179 BA) and a curveball that’s thrown to batters on both sides of the plate (.186 BA).

The AL Pitcher of the Month for April, Gilbert is tied for the league lead in starts (19), has gone five-plus innings in every start since April 14 and has pitched at least six innings in more than half of his starts this season.

Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles
.222/.302/.420, 5 HR, 16 RBIs
In the time since Rutschman was called up on May 21, Baltimore has gone 30-21 and stormed into the thick of the AL Wild Card race. And even through Rutschman’s run into some bad luck at the plate, the rookie backstop has still managed to record a 1.3 fWAR, the fourth-highest total among catchers since his callup.

Rutschman’s batting average of .222 is 25 points lower than his expected batting average of .247 -- the fourth-highest difference among catchers who have put 100 balls in the play.

Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals
.254/.299/.450, 13 HR, 47 RBI, 17 SB
Through the first half of the season, Witt is one of five players who had an average sprint speed of 30/5 feet per second and an average exit velocity above 90.8 mph. The other four players (Mike Trout, Trea Turner, Byron Buxton and J-Rod) all went to Los Angeles for this year’s All-Star Game. Witt shouldn’t be fair behind.

The former No. 1 prospect in baseball, the 22-year-old Witt possesses a rare blend of power and speed that should set him up for success for years to come. Through 88 games, Witt has an MLB-high-tying five triples, is on pace for a 20/20 season (13 home runs, 17 stolen bases) and is fourth in baseball with a power-speed number of 14.7 while leading the Royals’ youth movement.

Riley Greene, OF, Tigers
.252/.344/.364, 2 HR, 11 RBIs
Another member of the 2019 Draft class, Greene’s stock reached a fever pitch earlier this month when he blasted a ball 432 feet for a walk-off home run against the Royals.

Greene, the No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline, had the best game of his young career on July 15, driving in three runs and hitting his second career home run in the Tigers’ 6-5 loss to the Guardians a day after striking out four times.

“One thing I’ve appreciated about Riley Greene: After the four-punchout performance, he’s just the same as he was when he hit his walk-off home run [against the Royals on July 2],” manager A.J. Hinch said last week. “And that’s not easy to do at this age and at this level, with this many expectations on you. It’s a tribute to his character.”

And don’t let the fact he only has two home runs fool you -- this kid can hit. Through 27 games, Greene boasts a hard-hit percentage of 43.3, a mark equal to J.T. Realmuto and C.J. Cron.

Nolan Jones, RF, Guardians
.333/.455/.519, 1 HR, 9 RBIs
With just a week of Major League experience under his belt, Jones is the least-experienced player on this list, but he has still found a way to wow us. Jones tallied eight RBIs in his first four games, making him the 15th player in the Majors to have at least eight RBIs in his first four games since 1920 while also tying a Cleveland record for RBIs over that span.

In the time since Jones burst onto the Minor League scene during the 2019 season, he has endured thumb and ankle surgery, a canceled Minor League season and a position change, all of which led to him falling to No. 8 in Cleveland’s prospect rankings. After a successful first half of the season in Triple-A, Jones is back with Cleveland and making the most of his opportunity.