The unexpected breakout stars of 2023

Every season brings unexpected breakouts.

We don’t mean players such as Corbin Carroll or Gunnar Henderson -- can’t-miss prospects who, when they made it to the Majors, did not, in fact, miss. We’re talking about players who were either flying under the radar before reaching the big leagues or who had previously been unable to reach the high expectations placed upon them.

In 2023, though, these eight guys announced their presence with undeniable authority. Going forward, you’ll remember their names.

Here are the most surprising breakout players of the year.

Kyle Bradish, SP, Orioles

Bradish was a below-average starter for the upstart 2022 Orioles, a young guy with some potential who still got knocked around for a 4.90 ERA in 23 starts. The Orioles had enough rotation issues heading into 2023 that he got another shot this year, and the stuff the Baltimore brass had seen brewing emerged, big time.

Bradish firmly established himself as the team’s ace, raising his strikeout rate, dropping his walk rate and cutting his home-run rate almost in half. The result was a 2.83 ERA -- a full two-run drop -- and a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young Award voting. The Orioles still need some rotation help, but with Bradish and fellow breakout Grayson Rodriguez, they clearly have two spots locked down.

J.P. Crawford, SS, Mariners

Remember back when Crawford was just a disappointing Phillies prospect? He got a second lease on his career when Philly shipped him to Seattle after the 2018 season (with Carlos Santana, actually), but that didn’t result in an immediate turnaround. Crawford hit .226 in 93 games in his first season in the Pacific Northwest. He was good enough to win a Gold Glove Award in the shortened 2020 season and locked down the full-time shortstop job over the next two years, but there was still a sense that Crawford had not reached his ceiling, as a top-10 prospect.

But did that ever change in 2023. Crawford ended up leading the AL in walks (94), and he found his power swing, jumping from six homers to a career-high 19. His OBP went up more than 40 points to .380, and his slugging more than 100 to .438. The result was down-ballot AL MVP votes and a reputation for coming through in the clutch and being a team leader.

Nolan Jones, OF, Rockies

Heading into 2023, Jones may have registered less than anyone else on this list, despite spending a few years as a top-100 prospect. Following an underwhelming 28-game MLB debut with the Guardians in 2022, Jones was sent to Denver in an offseason trade that garnered little notice.

He started the year at Triple-A Albuquerque, where he hit .356 in 39 games before getting called up in late May. He was basically the best player on this team the rest of the year. In 106 games, he hit 20 homers and slashed .297/.389/.542 for a team that needed some positive developments. Jones will turn 26 in May, so he has gotten off to a late start, but this is precisely the sort of player the Rockies, or really any team, needs to find.

• Nolan Jones wraps sensational rookie season, looks ahead to 2024

Ha-Seong Kim, 2B, Padres

Amidst a crowded Padres infield, he established himself as a slick-fielding regular in 2022, but with the offseason addition of Xander Bogaerts, it wasn’t entirely clear if Kim would be able to play as big of a role in 2023.

He turned out to be one of the steadiest contributors on an extremely unsteady team during an extremely unsteady season, winning his first Gold Glove Award and raising his OBP by 26 points to .351. Kim also took advantage of the new rules in 2023, raising his stolen base total from 12 to 38 (sixth in MLB), and ended up getting down-ballot MVP votes despite San Diego’s disappointing 82-80 finish.

Jordan Montgomery, SP, Cardinals/Rangers

Traded away by the Yankees at the 2022 Deadline, Montgomery has since raised his stock quite a bit. He helped the Cardinals reach the postseason that year and not only did the same for the Rangers after the 2023 Trade Deadline but became a postseason star for the eventual World Series champs.

Montgomery set the October tone for Texas with seven scoreless innings in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series at Tampa Bay and later went 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three ALCS appearances (two starts) against the Astros. The left-hander timed his breakout season perfectly and is now one of the top free-agent starters available.

• 3 reasons why Montgomery is a sought-after starter

Luis Robert Jr., CF, White Sox

Now this is what the White Sox have been waiting for since Robert debuted in 2020. Not much else went right for the Pale Hose in 2023, but Robert, at last, was healthy for a full season, and the results were spectacular.

In 145 games, he bashed 38 homers and added 20 steals to boot, along with some strong defense. Those 145 games were almost as many as he had played from 2021-22 combined. Health is a skill, so Robert will need to string together a few years of staying on the field before we can crown him a true superstar. But we now know that, when he is healthy, a superstar is exactly what he is.

Justin Steele, SP, Cubs

Steele was fine in 2022, even a little better than fine: He had a 3.18 ERA in 24 starts, and while he probably walked too many guys, he kept the ball in the ballpark. Most people didn’t really notice him, as a soft-tossing lefty who had never been a highly rated prospect. It’s fair to say no one had him on their short list of 2023 NL Cy Young Award candidates.

But for most of 2023, until a slight dip late, Steele was a serious contender for that honor. The improvements? He continued to keep the ball in the park, but he cut his walk rate nearly in half and had a much better defense behind him. He ended up finishing fifth in NL Cy Young voting … and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he’s just as high up next year.

Bryson Stott, 2B, Phillies

Think of all the stars in this Phillies lineup: Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos – it’s a long list. Well, guess which player actually led all Philly position players in WAR this past season, per both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference? That’s right: It was Stott.

That was largely because of his terrific defense at second base, but he also showed a lot of improvement at the plate in his second big league season, posting an above-average OPS+ of 104 in 151 games, while adding 18 extra-base hits to his 2022 total. You win a lot of games with guys like Stott on your team, particularly this version of him. If you didn’t know that going into the season, you do now.