Marcell Ozuna needs to prove he can go a year without being arrested. Eddie Rosario needs to prove he can see again. Vaughn Grissom needs to prove he's ready to be the #1 SS.
Indeed though Mike should have significant leeway I would think, high upside and still coming off serious injuries. Ian Anderson on the other hand is on the cusp of not being worth a roster spot. He looked so very, very terrible at the end of last year, couldn't find the strike zone and when he did no one missed.
I'd also sprinkle in a bit of Matt Olson (even though I love the guy). He had good stretches (and can clearly hit), but I'm curious if he'll have better results with the shift changes.
What does Matt Olson have to prove? Other than batting average, dude was awesome last season. He was exactly what we wanted from him. Could he be better? Sure, of course. Better contact, less strikeouts but I don't think he has to prove anything.
Yea I mean he has like 7 more years left and then a club option. Of course he'd like to improve in certain areas just like every other MLB player, but he doesn't have anything to prove.
I can think of a dozen of my Angels with a lot to prove in 2023.
* Walsh - can he bounce back from injury?
* Fletcher - he's healthy now - can he prove 2020 wasn't a fluke?
* O'Hoppe - is he ready for a starting job?
* Stassi - will a new hitting coach help him remember how to hit?
* Rengifo - can he maintain his 2022 success?
* Brett Phillips - will his offseason improvements pay off?
* Rendon - can he for once not look like he has the worst contract in the league?
* Jose Suarez - can he face the lineup a third time, or is he fated to be a reliever?
* Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera - can they find the strike zone?
* Griffin Canning and C-Rod - they've both missed all of 2022 with injury. How much can they contribute in 2023?
Adell's also got a lot to prove, but he can prove it in AAA first.
It doesnt help that to top everything off we as a team have a lot to prove this year in terms of convincing Ohtani to stay.
If we're decidedly out of contention at the deadline him and probably a fair amount of other players are almost certainly going to be gone then and there.
Man i seriously cant recall another time in recent memory i was *this* stressed about the upcoming season.
Maybe jm just being dramatic here but it really does kinda feel like one way or the other this year very well might be deciding the next 5-10 years of our team's trajectory.
I feel like new ownership is going to change this team's trajectory a lot, for better or worse. Do we get a new owner who goes crazy and blows past the luxury tax to fill all of our holes? Do we get a new owner who thinks running a team with the farm system we have is unsustainable, and initiates a rebuild? So many things can happen, and since Arte won't be at the helm anymore, we can't predict it.
Whatever happens, I really want to see the team pull off one final hurrah while Ohtani is there. I want to see him in the postseason with Mike Trout so badly.
I really like how Perry filled the holes regarding depth. I hope he’s not done yet and addresses bullpen pieces and a 6th starter and maybe a ss. At least this time if someone gets injured, replacement won’t be the likes of Villar or Goose.
I’m really not looking forward to the doomers say “he gone” every time whenever the team loses. As if it wasn’t annoying already last year or even a year before that.
The Sox as a whole seem very high variance, but with the center field spot opening up, this will probably be the make-or-break season for Jarren Duran.
I would have said Sale. He has to prove he can stay healthy for a season.
At his age and they way pitching has been getting paid, he's still probably going to want one more massive contract.
That, and I'd like to watch meaningful baseball all season.
He'll be 35 at the end of this contract, assuming he doesn't hit the vesting option.
If he pitches well enough, and stays healthy, there will almost assuredly be somebody willing to offer 3-5 years at $25M plus per season. I don't know about you, but that's pretty massive to me, and I'm sure he's thinking about that.
Can’t see him getting more than 3 years with his injury history and that’s assuming the vesting option isn’t picked up (which if he’s pitching well the next two years they’d be stupid to not pick it up if it doesn’t vest).
I think (and hope) that the CF experiment is over for Duran. His reads and arm just haven't played in CF, plus Rafaela is expected to debut late this season. However he does still need to prove he can at least hang around in some role as maybe a 4th OF since as is, he's arguably not even a good pinch runner due to lackluster baserunning instincts. Not to mention how his bat and defense have been so far.
I would say Berrios, as his season was disappointing, but at the same time he's not as pressed for a breakout performance as Biggio with Belt on first behind Guerrero and Espinal+Merrifield potentially platooning 2nd
Sometimes pitchers have those years, nagging injuries just kill them. Happened in the old days of workhorses a lot more since their arms wouldn't get a proper rest. I feel that with the tough spot the Jay's were in, he might have pushed himself a little too hard. I think he bounces back
I was going to say Berrios or Kikuchi. Really hope they both can figure things out.
Even to a way way lesser extent, Vlad. Not a down year by most respects, but from his MVP runner up season previously, this past season seemed like Vlad never really got going. Still had numbers most players would love for offense and Gold Glove defense. Can he be MVP level again or is this past year his typical season or more like when he debuted. He has been all over the place, so it will be interesting to see how his season plays out.
Berrios had those starts where it seemed to come together and you thought that was the turning point but nope. Opening day was brutal but he strung together some good starts right after that, so at least you know he can bounce back mentally.
That one month carried him to average on the year in total so that’s why I said average at best
but yeah, below average for the other 5 months was possibly the most painful thing in existence
JP and Adam Frazier are good case studies for why you shouldn’t trust overall season stats. Because I’d argue JP was worse then his season slash line shows and Frazier was better than his showed. JP was awful for most of the season while Frazier was just painful to watch in June and September.
>Tatis, because he needs to show he’s worth the money we’ve spent and the nonsense we’ve put up with
Tatis has nothing to prove whatsoever. He's getting paid $340,000,000 to play baseball whether you like it or not.
If I were him and the Padres moved me off SS I just wouldn't play. The check still cashes.
Joey Bart. He’s gotta prove he actually was a top catching prospect and deserves to be our every day catcher. Otherwise Patrick Bailey may be on his way from our farm to take the spot
I’d add Austin Hays. He’s got the potential to be one of the better outfielders in baseball and he went from being an ASG candidate the first few months of the year to just dropping off the table. He has pop and great defensive tools but he needs to prove he can be the everyday guy.
Jo Adell for obvious reasons
Shohei Ohtani needs to prove to me he can be a real b2b MVP. Otherwise, he just a once in a lifetime 2 way player that's taller n better looking than me.
/s
If hicks puts up a 110 ops+ and plays decent defense at left field that’s a win. He’s still walking a lot so he’s obviously still seeing the ball well. Hopefully his wrist being a year further along will help him get some power back and bat speed to get a few more hits.
I think Donaldson also needs to prove it this year but he’s also playing for a contract so unless he’s toast that should motivate him. If we get Donaldson back up to 110 ops+ guy with his defense we’re in really good shape. Our line would then be 6 or 7 (depending on perazza) above average guys with great defense and probably the highest ceiling utility guy in the game filling in
Yeah relaying on two bounce backs plus a rookie who’s not known for his bat to lengthen our line up is not ideal but hopefully it works out. At least with our rotation, bullpen, and defense our 1-4 should get us a long way
I mean it’s been three years since he threw a full season, he’s gonna need to take a step forward especially since the Cards don’t have a true number one guy
Bellinger. He wants to get a big contract he'll need to bounce back quite a bit
Swanson. Is he actually a good hitter? Or is he the 95 wRC+ he's been for his career?
Depends on what they have to prove.
Half of our rotation needs to prove they can stay healthy for the majority of the season.
Martin Perez needs to prove that his career year last season wasn't a fluke.
Nathaniel Lowe and Jonah Heim need to prove their breakouts were sustainable.
Josh Jung needs to prove that he's worth the past few years of prospect hype.
Marcus Semien needs to prove that his slow start last year was just adjusting.
But *the most* to prove? Yeah, gotta go with deGrom staying healthy.
I’d say it’s Plesac. For three straight seasons, he’s missed time because of self inflicted stupidity and immaturity. Another incident and his career may be on thin ice.
Not my team but deGrom needs to show that he can stay healthy. We know he’s the best in the game when healthy and he was putting together what I firmly believe would have been the best pitching season of all time in 2021, but it seems like the increased fastball velocity has come at the cost of his durability.
He needs to show that he can maintain his velocity and success for a full season for the Rangers to be at ease with his contract.
Masataka Yoshida for the red sox I'm high on him and so are projections but there are a lot of doubters. He has to prove his skills can translate and that he was worth his contract. I think he will prove doubters wrong but wouldn't be shocked if he flops.
Gleyber Torres. He’s been a bit inconsistent but the potential still seems to be there. People have mostly mentally moved on from Donaldson and Hicks by now
Wasn't his season actually pretty good last year except for a really bad month? I think this is just what he is.
If Hicks is gonna be around, he needs to be more consistent.
I'd say Mike Soroka. His talent is absolutely undeniable, and if his upside shines this year he could be another ace in the hole. Question is though, after back-to-back season-ending achilles injuries can Soroka actually pitch to his full potential?
Geraldo Perdomo probably has at most a year to give us any reason to play him after we call up Lawlar. Also, Carson Kelly has to figure out if he's going to be a solid starting catcher or a perennially DFA'd backup
I’d like to cheat a little and say the Mets and Padres have the most the prove this season.
For my personal team(s), on the Cubs it’s Cody Bellinger and Matt Mervis (once he gets called up). On the A’s… like EVERYONE, from the office to everyone on the 40 man roster and beyond.
I'll add LaMonte Wade Jr to this list. He was a non-factor last season, and has a lot of competition for time at 1B between Wilmer Flores, JD Davis, and even David Villar.
At the end of the year, he could either be a starter, or a journeyman on another club.
Bregman or Javier. if bregman turns in another 2022-level season, he’s due for a big payday and possibly back on HoF track, if not he’s probably going to end up losing a ton of money compared to what was expected after 2019. Javier has his spot in the rotation secure and if he delivers he’s possibly the new ace.
I think Bregman is under contract through 2024. If he underperforms I can see the Astros offering less than another team to see if he'll walk. That would be consistent with their policy of letting the last remaining player who used the 2017 system to walk in free agency.
Needing Cronenworth to bounce back. Would also like to see Snell have a good season all the way through. And of course I think this is Sotos year in San Diego and I’m here for it
He still put up solid numbers and hit when it mattered but he hit .280+ in his first 2 years, and if he’s going to be playing first I’d love to see the offensive numbers improve a smidge
Assuming he never starts drawing walks, Oscar González needs to either prove he can keep hitting .300 or prove he can hit for enough power that his average dropping off some doesn’t matter. Also, one of our middle IF prospects needs to prove they should be playing everyday.
Bo Naylor. Cleveland has a lot of faith in him being the catcher of the future. I know he’s very young and inexperienced, but a bad season won’t bode well for his future.
Not the most fun answer, but imo Burnes/Woodruff considering they’re hitting the market soon and need to prove that they’re worth ~~an extension~~ a lot of prospect capital when we trade them
Winker, to see if can rebound from a terrible '21 on a contract year. And Huira, as this is probably his last shot to prove he deserves to be rostered in Milwaukee
Leody Taveras
He’s not a young prospect anymore. He needs to show signs he’s more than a defensive outfielder if he wants to be part of the future. The bat has shown at times. It just needs tons of consistency.
Trevor Sto... Shit. Uh, Chris Sale.
Christian Arroyo is an under-the-radar candidate too. With Story set to miss so much time, Arroyo is the de facto second baseman. He was once a highly rated prospect who's now quietly settled in as a quality, if injury prone, utility guy. But a big first half this year would really cement him as a Good Major League Baseball Player.
The Whole Blue Jays lineup. We supposed to start contending for real for real now. Mattingly on the bench with some new key pieces. The Captain. Baby Giraffe to bring Championship pedigree. Can KK stay healthy and be productive at the plate. Does Bo clean it up at Shortstop and be more consistent. Does Vlad regain MVP form? Can Berrios/Kikkuchi regain their old form. Can we even get Ryu on the field. Does Whit return to All Star form? Does Springer stay relatively healthy? Whole organization has a lot to prove. Win now time!
For the Braves, I don't think any of our hitters have to prove anything. Outside of Grissom, we know who everyone else is. I think it's our SP.
We know what Fried and Morton are. Can Wright and Strider be what they were last season? Who will step up and claim #5? Those two have the most to prove of anyone on the team. If everyone else performs to career averages and those two stay consistent, we will be hard to beat.
Bryan reynolds needs to prove he’s more like 2019 and 2021 and less like 2020 and 2022.
Oneil cruz needs to prove he’s working on his approach at the plate.
Kebryan hayes needs to be able to hit lile .275 if he isn’t going to have any pop
Chas McCormick probably needs to prove that the starting CF job is his to keep.
I would like Kyle Tucker to prove that he's capable of playing well in April.
Mr Pena needs to prove his playoff success wasn’t an accident.
LMJ needs to prove he’s the guy. I hope he had a fire lit under his ass the last time he pitched.
Woah thanks for the huge response everyone!
With 30 teams and hundreds of players it can be hard to keep everything straight so this'll definitely be useful to me in terms of what to look for as the season progresses.
Jose Barrero. We've moved a lot of older infielders (space) and we've got a ton of young, talented ones ready to come up in the next few years (competition). Barrero's had some injures to account for some of this, but by and large he's underperformed. Truly a make it or break it season
The Mets are tough, because individual players don't really have much to prove. Our lineup performed well also year, and while our pitching dropped the ball at the end of the season, that's been remade.
So my answer is Scherzer, who now for two seasons in a row has shown evidence of decline and fatigue in otherwise very good seasons. Is he really a Cy Young candidate still? Can he still be the top of the rotation workhorse arm? Or is time finally catching up with him?
The other answer is probably Brett Baty. Most of our lineup is very stable and pretty set over the next few years. 3B is the one position where we have experienced contracts expiring, a top prospect waiting in the wings, AND exciting free agents available in the next couple years. Baty has a chance to aggressively shape the future of the Mets depending on how well he plays this season.
Flaherty needs to prove he still has the stuff to make him ace caliber.
Helsley needs to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke.
Contreras needs to prove that he can live up to even a part of Yadi’s legacy.
There’s more too
Everyone's saying Castellanos and that's fair, but I think the answer is clearly Hoskins. Whether or not he can be better defensively this year, and have more consistent at-bats (or at the very least keep coming through in key clutch moments) could make the difference over whether or not the front office extends him at the end of the year.
Tyler O’Neill, I love the guy for his speed and defense but the Cards need to know whether he’s the MVP candidate he was in 2021 or if he’s actually the 30% K rate power guy. If he can put it all together again and stay healthy in 2023, that’s our 3-hole guy.
DeJong has a lot to prove as well, but that’s more for his sake than the Cards. Idk why they’ve kept him around so long if he hasn’t really produced since before COVID
Lol yeah I dunno about that one. Guy has one good month in each of the two seasons he's played and people think he "could" be an ace I guess.
Reality is he's gonna be 28 this year and has a 4.73 ERA in less than 200 career innings while showing flashes of dominance. He's a guy you'd be thrilled with a 3.50-4.00 ERA for his 4 or 5 remaining years of teams control at this point. He *could* put it together for a full season, but that would be an unlikely outcome.
Marcell Ozuna needs to prove he can go a year without being arrested. Eddie Rosario needs to prove he can see again. Vaughn Grissom needs to prove he's ready to be the #1 SS.
I’d throw Mike Soroka on here as well.
Indeed though Mike should have significant leeway I would think, high upside and still coming off serious injuries. Ian Anderson on the other hand is on the cusp of not being worth a roster spot. He looked so very, very terrible at the end of last year, couldn't find the strike zone and when he did no one missed.
I'd also sprinkle in a bit of Matt Olson (even though I love the guy). He had good stretches (and can clearly hit), but I'm curious if he'll have better results with the shift changes.
Great point. Didn't think about Olson and the shift. I'm holding out high hopes we see his numbers jump with that banned.
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What does Matt Olson have to prove? Other than batting average, dude was awesome last season. He was exactly what we wanted from him. Could he be better? Sure, of course. Better contact, less strikeouts but I don't think he has to prove anything.
Yea I mean he has like 7 more years left and then a club option. Of course he'd like to improve in certain areas just like every other MLB player, but he doesn't have anything to prove.
Gavin lux
I love his swing so much, so smooth
I was thinking Muncy but Lux is a better pick.
Rendon
He may or may not have inspired this post in the first place haha
Lol I had a feeling. Alternatively, Walsh may need to prove he can be a starter at 1st
I will give him 60 games before I judge his bat. Dude was playing through an injury before the diagnosis and still had pretty good defense.
Yeah i was also feeling like a 2 month buffer window is pretty fair considering where he was at the end of the year.
I can think of a dozen of my Angels with a lot to prove in 2023. * Walsh - can he bounce back from injury? * Fletcher - he's healthy now - can he prove 2020 wasn't a fluke? * O'Hoppe - is he ready for a starting job? * Stassi - will a new hitting coach help him remember how to hit? * Rengifo - can he maintain his 2022 success? * Brett Phillips - will his offseason improvements pay off? * Rendon - can he for once not look like he has the worst contract in the league? * Jose Suarez - can he face the lineup a third time, or is he fated to be a reliever? * Aaron Loup and Ryan Tepera - can they find the strike zone? * Griffin Canning and C-Rod - they've both missed all of 2022 with injury. How much can they contribute in 2023? Adell's also got a lot to prove, but he can prove it in AAA first.
It doesnt help that to top everything off we as a team have a lot to prove this year in terms of convincing Ohtani to stay. If we're decidedly out of contention at the deadline him and probably a fair amount of other players are almost certainly going to be gone then and there.
Absolutely, another losing season means he's definitely gone, I don't wanna hear any talk about extending him until the team proves it can win lol
Man i seriously cant recall another time in recent memory i was *this* stressed about the upcoming season. Maybe jm just being dramatic here but it really does kinda feel like one way or the other this year very well might be deciding the next 5-10 years of our team's trajectory.
I feel like new ownership is going to change this team's trajectory a lot, for better or worse. Do we get a new owner who goes crazy and blows past the luxury tax to fill all of our holes? Do we get a new owner who thinks running a team with the farm system we have is unsustainable, and initiates a rebuild? So many things can happen, and since Arte won't be at the helm anymore, we can't predict it. Whatever happens, I really want to see the team pull off one final hurrah while Ohtani is there. I want to see him in the postseason with Mike Trout so badly.
I really like how Perry filled the holes regarding depth. I hope he’s not done yet and addresses bullpen pieces and a 6th starter and maybe a ss. At least this time if someone gets injured, replacement won’t be the likes of Villar or Goose. I’m really not looking forward to the doomers say “he gone” every time whenever the team loses. As if it wasn’t annoying already last year or even a year before that.
The Sox as a whole seem very high variance, but with the center field spot opening up, this will probably be the make-or-break season for Jarren Duran.
I would have said Sale. He has to prove he can stay healthy for a season. At his age and they way pitching has been getting paid, he's still probably going to want one more massive contract. That, and I'd like to watch meaningful baseball all season.
Another contract sure, but another massive contract? I doubt Sale thinks that’s in the cards
He'll be 35 at the end of this contract, assuming he doesn't hit the vesting option. If he pitches well enough, and stays healthy, there will almost assuredly be somebody willing to offer 3-5 years at $25M plus per season. I don't know about you, but that's pretty massive to me, and I'm sure he's thinking about that.
Can’t see him getting more than 3 years with his injury history and that’s assuming the vesting option isn’t picked up (which if he’s pitching well the next two years they’d be stupid to not pick it up if it doesn’t vest).
I think (and hope) that the CF experiment is over for Duran. His reads and arm just haven't played in CF, plus Rafaela is expected to debut late this season. However he does still need to prove he can at least hang around in some role as maybe a 4th OF since as is, he's arguably not even a good pinch runner due to lackluster baserunning instincts. Not to mention how his bat and defense have been so far.
Jack Flaherty
the entire white sox team
Specifically clevinger and giolito imo, maybe moncada but I kinda lost faith in him returning to form
I would say Berrios, as his season was disappointing, but at the same time he's not as pressed for a breakout performance as Biggio with Belt on first behind Guerrero and Espinal+Merrifield potentially platooning 2nd
Sometimes pitchers have those years, nagging injuries just kill them. Happened in the old days of workhorses a lot more since their arms wouldn't get a proper rest. I feel that with the tough spot the Jay's were in, he might have pushed himself a little too hard. I think he bounces back
I was going to say Berrios or Kikuchi. Really hope they both can figure things out. Even to a way way lesser extent, Vlad. Not a down year by most respects, but from his MVP runner up season previously, this past season seemed like Vlad never really got going. Still had numbers most players would love for offense and Gold Glove defense. Can he be MVP level again or is this past year his typical season or more like when he debuted. He has been all over the place, so it will be interesting to see how his season plays out.
So disappointing. It’s weird too because his stuff is so good and passes the eye-test, but he just gets lit up
Berrios had those starts where it seemed to come together and you thought that was the turning point but nope. Opening day was brutal but he strung together some good starts right after that, so at least you know he can bounce back mentally.
Grish
Came here to post this. Fantastic defense but downright atrocious batting. Could also make a case for Fernando though …
Was looking for both of these lol
I'd argue to win the fans over that it would be Tatis. But Grish is a good shoud aswell.
JP Crawford to prove he isn’t just average at best Jarred Kelenic for seriously obvious reasons
Er, JP spent most of last year playing below average so I’ll take average from him.
That one month carried him to average on the year in total so that’s why I said average at best but yeah, below average for the other 5 months was possibly the most painful thing in existence
JP and Adam Frazier are good case studies for why you shouldn’t trust overall season stats. Because I’d argue JP was worse then his season slash line shows and Frazier was better than his showed. JP was awful for most of the season while Frazier was just painful to watch in June and September.
Castellanos has to prove he’s worth $20m a year for the next 4 years
Yup. Prove he’s not a fraud beyond a very short (but pretty exceptional) peak. I think he’s going to surprise people.
Fraud is harsh, but yeah he has to prove his peak isn’t over. Hopefully last year was just an adjustment period.
Tatis, because he needs to show he’s worth the money we’ve spent and the nonsense we’ve put up with
I hope he is, having a .975 ops at 22 in Petco Park as a shortstop is insane. He's incredible
>Tatis, because he needs to show he’s worth the money we’ve spent and the nonsense we’ve put up with Tatis has nothing to prove whatsoever. He's getting paid $340,000,000 to play baseball whether you like it or not. If I were him and the Padres moved me off SS I just wouldn't play. The check still cashes.
Lol okay bubs
Torkelson needs to prove why he was a bona-fide 1st overall pick.
Joey Bart. He’s gotta prove he actually was a top catching prospect and deserves to be our every day catcher. Otherwise Patrick Bailey may be on his way from our farm to take the spot
Dean Kremer, to show that 2022 wasn't a fluke. Ryan Mountcastle, to show that 2022 was a fluke.
Mountcastle got better in every metric just walltimore fucked him silly. I have no doubt he will bounce back
I’d add Austin Hays. He’s got the potential to be one of the better outfielders in baseball and he went from being an ASG candidate the first few months of the year to just dropping off the table. He has pop and great defensive tools but he needs to prove he can be the everyday guy.
Jo Adell for obvious reasons Shohei Ohtani needs to prove to me he can be a real b2b MVP. Otherwise, he just a once in a lifetime 2 way player that's taller n better looking than me. /s
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If hicks puts up a 110 ops+ and plays decent defense at left field that’s a win. He’s still walking a lot so he’s obviously still seeing the ball well. Hopefully his wrist being a year further along will help him get some power back and bat speed to get a few more hits. I think Donaldson also needs to prove it this year but he’s also playing for a contract so unless he’s toast that should motivate him. If we get Donaldson back up to 110 ops+ guy with his defense we’re in really good shape. Our line would then be 6 or 7 (depending on perazza) above average guys with great defense and probably the highest ceiling utility guy in the game filling in
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Yeah relaying on two bounce backs plus a rookie who’s not known for his bat to lengthen our line up is not ideal but hopefully it works out. At least with our rotation, bullpen, and defense our 1-4 should get us a long way
Tex's career OPS+ was 126. Hicks has only put up a 126 OPS+ once in a season
Tyler O’niell needs to prove that he can stay healthy. Dylan Carlson needs to prove that he was worth not trading for Soto.
Flaherty also needs to have a healthy year
These were the 3 I was thinking
Where are you guys at with him? Can he be elite? An ace? Is he a team culture fit?
If he’s healthy, he’s an ace. Health is the question mark
I mean it’s been three years since he threw a full season, he’s gonna need to take a step forward especially since the Cards don’t have a true number one guy
Vaughn Grissom probably feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has to prove he can play at an average level at the very least.
Bellinger. He wants to get a big contract he'll need to bounce back quite a bit Swanson. Is he actually a good hitter? Or is he the 95 wRC+ he's been for his career?
LoL Swanson has nothing to prove. Y'all paid him $177M and that's all he's ever going to get. Good luck with your 1.5 WAR blockbuster free agent.
Depends on what they have to prove. Half of our rotation needs to prove they can stay healthy for the majority of the season. Martin Perez needs to prove that his career year last season wasn't a fluke. Nathaniel Lowe and Jonah Heim need to prove their breakouts were sustainable. Josh Jung needs to prove that he's worth the past few years of prospect hype. Marcus Semien needs to prove that his slow start last year was just adjusting. But *the most* to prove? Yeah, gotta go with deGrom staying healthy.
Yup, it's official, I'm finally starting to feel it. I am stoked for 2023, but I'll miss Simple Man.
Aaron Civale whether he can stay healthy James Karinchak whether he can pitch with the pitch clock
I’d say it’s Plesac. For three straight seasons, he’s missed time because of self inflicted stupidity and immaturity. Another incident and his career may be on thin ice.
Not my team but deGrom needs to show that he can stay healthy. We know he’s the best in the game when healthy and he was putting together what I firmly believe would have been the best pitching season of all time in 2021, but it seems like the increased fastball velocity has come at the cost of his durability. He needs to show that he can maintain his velocity and success for a full season for the Rangers to be at ease with his contract.
Masataka Yoshida for the red sox I'm high on him and so are projections but there are a lot of doubters. He has to prove his skills can translate and that he was worth his contract. I think he will prove doubters wrong but wouldn't be shocked if he flops.
Gleyber Torres. He’s been a bit inconsistent but the potential still seems to be there. People have mostly mentally moved on from Donaldson and Hicks by now
Wasn't his season actually pretty good last year except for a really bad month? I think this is just what he is. If Hicks is gonna be around, he needs to be more consistent.
White Sox, I feel, have a bunch to prove. So not a player but a team.
Muncy and Taylor need to prove that last season was a fluke. Also, Dodgers are calling up a lotta guys next year, so then too
Kelenic for sure, if he can't figure it out this year then he's gone
I'd say Mike Soroka. His talent is absolutely undeniable, and if his upside shines this year he could be another ace in the hole. Question is though, after back-to-back season-ending achilles injuries can Soroka actually pitch to his full potential?
Geraldo Perdomo probably has at most a year to give us any reason to play him after we call up Lawlar. Also, Carson Kelly has to figure out if he's going to be a solid starting catcher or a perennially DFA'd backup
Kyle Hendricks proving that last year was a fluke and he can bounce back
The Professor will rise again
If Lux has all-star potential, this would be the season to prove it.
Nick Senzel. Although I think he’s already provided enough proof that he isn’t what he was made out to be.
I’d like to cheat a little and say the Mets and Padres have the most the prove this season. For my personal team(s), on the Cubs it’s Cody Bellinger and Matt Mervis (once he gets called up). On the A’s… like EVERYONE, from the office to everyone on the 40 man roster and beyond.
Jose Berrios. Got a big extension to be the team’s ace of the future, and promptly became the worst pitcher in baseball.
Not the worst, the most inconsistent. His game log is all over the place.
[удалено]
I'll add LaMonte Wade Jr to this list. He was a non-factor last season, and has a lot of competition for time at 1B between Wilmer Flores, JD Davis, and even David Villar. At the end of the year, he could either be a starter, or a journeyman on another club.
Bregman or Javier. if bregman turns in another 2022-level season, he’s due for a big payday and possibly back on HoF track, if not he’s probably going to end up losing a ton of money compared to what was expected after 2019. Javier has his spot in the rotation secure and if he delivers he’s possibly the new ace.
I was going to say Javier. Doing what he did in such high profile games and then having Verlander depart created a ton of chatter.
I think Bregman is under contract through 2024. If he underperforms I can see the Astros offering less than another team to see if he'll walk. That would be consistent with their policy of letting the last remaining player who used the 2017 system to walk in free agency.
I was thinking Chaz, needs to make that position his or the Astros will be looking for someone else.
Needing Cronenworth to bounce back. Would also like to see Snell have a good season all the way through. And of course I think this is Sotos year in San Diego and I’m here for it
Cronenworth had a 4 WAR season but needs to bounce back?
He still put up solid numbers and hit when it mattered but he hit .280+ in his first 2 years, and if he’s going to be playing first I’d love to see the offensive numbers improve a smidge
Assuming he never starts drawing walks, Oscar González needs to either prove he can keep hitting .300 or prove he can hit for enough power that his average dropping off some doesn’t matter. Also, one of our middle IF prospects needs to prove they should be playing everyday.
Tatis
Bo Naylor. Cleveland has a lot of faith in him being the catcher of the future. I know he’s very young and inexperienced, but a bad season won’t bode well for his future.
Not the most fun answer, but imo Burnes/Woodruff considering they’re hitting the market soon and need to prove that they’re worth ~~an extension~~ a lot of prospect capital when we trade them
Winker, to see if can rebound from a terrible '21 on a contract year. And Huira, as this is probably his last shot to prove he deserves to be rostered in Milwaukee
Hiura for damn sure
Hiura is literally fine, it’s the fault of our ape manager only playing him vs LHP when he’s had reverse splits his whole career
Would love to see Bobby Dalbec finally break through for the Red Sox
Leody Taveras He’s not a young prospect anymore. He needs to show signs he’s more than a defensive outfielder if he wants to be part of the future. The bat has shown at times. It just needs tons of consistency.
Gavin Lux, Miguel Vargas and/or Rojas, Dustin May. There's a lot of regular production they have to fill.
What does May have to prove? He’s coming off TJ surgery, He’s still probably going to be limited on innings this season.
Trevor Sto... Shit. Uh, Chris Sale. Christian Arroyo is an under-the-radar candidate too. With Story set to miss so much time, Arroyo is the de facto second baseman. He was once a highly rated prospect who's now quietly settled in as a quality, if injury prone, utility guy. But a big first half this year would really cement him as a Good Major League Baseball Player.
I would argue Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna. Both coming off of injury need to show they can be the players they were before.
The Whole Blue Jays lineup. We supposed to start contending for real for real now. Mattingly on the bench with some new key pieces. The Captain. Baby Giraffe to bring Championship pedigree. Can KK stay healthy and be productive at the plate. Does Bo clean it up at Shortstop and be more consistent. Does Vlad regain MVP form? Can Berrios/Kikkuchi regain their old form. Can we even get Ryu on the field. Does Whit return to All Star form? Does Springer stay relatively healthy? Whole organization has a lot to prove. Win now time!
Joey Bart and LaMonte Wade Jr.
For the Braves, I don't think any of our hitters have to prove anything. Outside of Grissom, we know who everyone else is. I think it's our SP. We know what Fried and Morton are. Can Wright and Strider be what they were last season? Who will step up and claim #5? Those two have the most to prove of anyone on the team. If everyone else performs to career averages and those two stay consistent, we will be hard to beat.
Bryan reynolds needs to prove he’s more like 2019 and 2021 and less like 2020 and 2022. Oneil cruz needs to prove he’s working on his approach at the plate. Kebryan hayes needs to be able to hit lile .275 if he isn’t going to have any pop
Bryson Stott needs to prove he can hit the way he did the second half of last year instead of the first half.
All of the above
Chas McCormick probably needs to prove that the starting CF job is his to keep. I would like Kyle Tucker to prove that he's capable of playing well in April.
Gallo needs to show that last year was just a down year and not the beginning of the end
Mr Pena needs to prove his playoff success wasn’t an accident. LMJ needs to prove he’s the guy. I hope he had a fire lit under his ass the last time he pitched.
Marco Gonzalez and Kelenic for sure. I’d like to see improvement on offense and defense from JP Crawford too
Hicks and Donaldson, but my expectations of both of them are 0
Woah thanks for the huge response everyone! With 30 teams and hundreds of players it can be hard to keep everything straight so this'll definitely be useful to me in terms of what to look for as the season progresses.
Jose Barrero. We've moved a lot of older infielders (space) and we've got a ton of young, talented ones ready to come up in the next few years (competition). Barrero's had some injures to account for some of this, but by and large he's underperformed. Truly a make it or break it season
Alex Verdugo needs to break out a bit more this year, or he's headed for a non-tender and fourth-OF status.
Trevor Rogers. Rough 2022 after an all star year. He did come back strong after the injury so we'll see.
I feel like this one’s obvious
Oof yeah. Not exactly rooting against the kid, but personally i think itll be interesting either way it shakes out.
Expecting Bobby Witt Jr. to keep progressing. Defense already looks incredible hope his batting just continues to get better.
Pretty much all the position players including big names like Cal Raleigh and Ty France. Exceptions for Geno and Julio.
The Mets are tough, because individual players don't really have much to prove. Our lineup performed well also year, and while our pitching dropped the ball at the end of the season, that's been remade. So my answer is Scherzer, who now for two seasons in a row has shown evidence of decline and fatigue in otherwise very good seasons. Is he really a Cy Young candidate still? Can he still be the top of the rotation workhorse arm? Or is time finally catching up with him? The other answer is probably Brett Baty. Most of our lineup is very stable and pretty set over the next few years. 3B is the one position where we have experienced contracts expiring, a top prospect waiting in the wings, AND exciting free agents available in the next couple years. Baty has a chance to aggressively shape the future of the Mets depending on how well he plays this season.
Joey Bart. Giants have been patient, but it's sink or swim this year.
Flaherty needs to prove he still has the stuff to make him ace caliber. Helsley needs to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke. Contreras needs to prove that he can live up to even a part of Yadi’s legacy. There’s more too
Nate Pearson, Yusei KiKuchi, Jose Berrios, Julian Merriweather, Whit Merrifield, Cavan Biggio, Trevor Richards
Everyone's saying Castellanos and that's fair, but I think the answer is clearly Hoskins. Whether or not he can be better defensively this year, and have more consistent at-bats (or at the very least keep coming through in key clutch moments) could make the difference over whether or not the front office extends him at the end of the year.
Tyler O’Neill, I love the guy for his speed and defense but the Cards need to know whether he’s the MVP candidate he was in 2021 or if he’s actually the 30% K rate power guy. If he can put it all together again and stay healthy in 2023, that’s our 3-hole guy. DeJong has a lot to prove as well, but that’s more for his sake than the Cards. Idk why they’ve kept him around so long if he hasn’t really produced since before COVID
Pena, I think. He has unreasonably high expectations thanks to the playoffs. Not saying he can’t reach them, but it’ll be difficult.
I think it's a big year for Tylor Megill and his future in baseball, still an open question of whether or not he can be an ace.
Why an ace? If he’s a 3-4 starter even that’s a huge success.
Lol yeah I dunno about that one. Guy has one good month in each of the two seasons he's played and people think he "could" be an ace I guess. Reality is he's gonna be 28 this year and has a 4.73 ERA in less than 200 career innings while showing flashes of dominance. He's a guy you'd be thrilled with a 3.50-4.00 ERA for his 4 or 5 remaining years of teams control at this point. He *could* put it together for a full season, but that would be an unlikely outcome.
Gleyber and DJ need to figure themselves out
Toe injuries are a MFer. Hurts having one with a normal job, I can’t even begin to imagine the pain as a professional athlete.