The best 2021 prospects have hit the bigs for the most part. There are a few young men still toiling at Double-A and Triple-A, however. If you need a shot in the arm for your steals category keep these up-and-comers on your radar.
- Josh Lowe, TB – The final Lowe boss should be patrolling the stalactite-like confine of the Trop sometime soon. The Rays moved up Vidal Brujan in response to losing Manny Margot. That makes Lowe the next man up if/when Kevin Keirmaier drops on the IL.
- Jarren Duran, BOS – Boston made it fairly clear they are considering a call-up of Duran by letting the Olympic team know there’s no guarantee he’d be there for the duration. That doesn’t mean he’s packing his bags strictly speaking but it’d also be a pretty big FU to a young star having a great season.
- Jeter Downs, BOS – Sticking with Beantown, it’s starting to feel like the Enrique Hernadez experiment is running its course. He isn’t bad per se but he isn’t all that good either. He is what he is at this point. Marwin Gonzalez is also siphoning ABs and he’s been abysmal. Downs has been ready for every level prior to a rocky AAA start this year (if 7 HR/12 SB is considered rocky). Maybe the pandemic played a role as he’s starting to find his stride. An extended hot streak could be enough to push him into a role.
- Bobby Witt Jr., KC – This one remains a pipe dream but it’s still fun to think about. The hubbub in spring training that he had a chance to break camp with the club was all overly rosy optimism. There’s no reason not to harness that same energy for the second half. Maybe that means spinning him off for a more useful piece when he has a game like he did back in May with 3 homers.
- JJ Bleday, MIA – This one is more a back burner type thought. Bleday’s season has not gone the way most expected. A slash of .206/.317/.346 certainly doesn’t indicate getting the job done. At the ripe age of 23, along with his NCAA credentials, a mid-summer turn around may do enough to get him a late season cup of coffee.
