The July trade deadline and the August waiver period are not the only ways that teams can add to their rosters for the stretch run. September also brings an influx of new players when the active rosters expand from 25 to 40.
Generally, this is a time when teams promote the guys who have bounced between the minors and majors for most of the season, adding a few arms to the bullpen and bats to the bench in the process.
However, at least a handful of top prospects get the chance to show what they can do during this time as well.
Last season, Corey Seager (LAD), Jarrett Parker (SF), Zack Davies (MIL), Max Kepler (MIN), Miguel Castro (COL), Rob Refsnyder (NYY), Carl Edwards Jr. (CHC) and Tom Murphy (COL) headlined the crop of September prospect promotions.
So who could get the call this year?
What follows is my best guess at the top 25 prospects likely to be promoted when Sept. 1 rolls around.
A few things to consider before we begin:
- Prospects are ranked based on their overall ceiling and future upside, not necessarily on the impact they are expected to make over the final month of the season.
- To be considered for inclusion, a player must still have rookie eligibility (130 AB, 50 IP).
Hopefully, that clarifies what we were looking for when we put these rankings together and we’ll see in a few days how many of these guys actually get the call.