Over the course of the 2013 season, 230 players—103 position players and 127 pitchers—made their major league debuts, according to Baseball Reference’s Play Index.
That’s down from 2012, when 291 players (174 position players and 117 pitchers) got their careers underway. But it proves a point: every season, without fail, each and every team in baseball gets significant use out of its minor league shuttle.
It’s going to happen again in 2014.
While not every team has a high-profile prospect ready to make a major impact in 2014, there’s at least one player in every farm system that, whether they break camp with the club or wind up joining the team later in the season, is going to impact his team’s fortunes more than others during the regular season.
Let’s take a look at the youngsters who should be on your radar as Opening Day draws near.
*To qualify for rookie status, a player must not have exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues, or accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster between Opening Day and September 1, when rosters expand.
*All spring training stats courtesy of MLB.com.
*All other stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.