By Jonathan Mayo | 35 minutes ago
Want to know who the next big players in Major League Baseball will be? Then you better check out the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game 2023.
Do you need proof? Eight of the top ten career active leaders in WAR and 14 of the top 20 all played in the Futures Game before becoming big league stars.
Be sure to read the squads of this year’s game released on Monday carefully. Then catch the 24th edition of the exhibit showcasing the game’s biggest talents on Saturday, July 8 at 7:00pm ET (4:00pm PT) at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
The seven-inning contest will be held in the National League vs. American League format and will be broadcast exclusively on Peacock and SiriusXM. MLB Network will co-produce the show with Dave Sims (play-by-play), Yonder Alonso (analyst), Jonathan Mayo (analyst), Siera Santos (reporter) and Caroline Pineda (reporter).
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This year’s 50 Futures Gamers group includes 28 prospects on MLB Pipeline’s newly updated Top 100 list. It begins with No. 1 contender and No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, Jackson Holliday of the Orioles, and includes five other members of baseball’s top 10 contenders: Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (No. 3) , Red Sox shortstop Marcelo Mayer (No. 5), Nationals outfielder James Wood (No. 6), D-Backs shortstop Jordan Lawlar (No. 7) and Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 10).
A total of five top 100 pitchers are heading to Seattle, including four for the NL: Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison (No. 14), Phillies right-hander Mick Abel (No. 46), Cardinals right-hander Tink Folge (No. 66). ) and Brewers Righty Jacob Misiorowski (No. 93). Rangers right-hander Owen White (No. 48) is the only top-100 contender on the AL team this year.
Both lineups will be filled with top 50 talent beyond the top 10. The NL consists of Padres shortstop Jackson Merrill (No. 12), Reds infielder Noelvi Marte (No. 19), and Pirates catcher/infielder Endy Rodriguez (No. 39). Meanwhile, the AL will also recruit Rays infielder Junior Caminero (No. 17), Mariners catcher Harry Ford (No. 29), A’s catcher/first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (No. 37), Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad (No. 40) have. Rays first baseman Kyle Manzardo (No. 42) and Tigers infielder Colt Keith (No. 43). Overall, the NL has 16 top 100 prospects compared to 12 in the AL.
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The teams have a total of 14 former first-round picks (eight on AL, six on NL), two Competitive Balance Round B selections, 10 second-round picks, two third-round picks, four fifth-round picks, and two sixth-round picks , one seventh-round pick, two eighth-round picks, one 13th-round pick, one 15th-round pick, and one 16th-round pick.
In addition to Holliday, the rosters include three other top 10 draft picks in Kjerstad (No. 2, 2020), Mayer (No. 4, 2021) and Lawlar (No. 6, 2021). The 2020 draft is represented by five first-rounders (Crow-Armstrong, Abel, Nick Yorke, Soderstrom, and Kjerstad), while the 2021 draft also has five (Ford, Nationals No. 2 contender Brady House, Merrill, Mayer, and Lawlar). Holliday has teammates Justin Crawford from the Phillies, Spencer Jones from the Yankees and Drew Gilbert from the Astros with him for 2022.
Two former Seattle Mariners fan favorites are featured as managers: Harold Reynolds, a two-time All-Star and current MLB Network analyst, will lead the AL Futures squad, while Raul Ibañez, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, will lead the NL will lead the Futures team.
Futures Game coaches include former Major League All-Stars and Mariners legends Adrián Beltré, Jay Buhner, Mike Cameron, Alvin Davis, Félix Hernández, Jamie Moyer, Dan Wilson and Randy Winn.
Seven players who have participated in development programs led by MLB and USA Baseball are included in the Futures rosters, including Lawrence Butler (Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational), Crawford (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series, Hank Aaron Invitational), and Ford ( DREAM Series). ), Consequently (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series), JP Massey (Breakthrough Series, DREAM Series), Nasim Nunez (Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational) and Kyren Paris (Breakthrough Series, Hank Aaron Invitational).
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The two teams consist of 11 international-born players representing five countries and territories outside of the United States. The Dominican Republic is represented by four players, followed by three players from Cuba, two players from Venezuela and one each from the Bahamas and the Netherlands.
SiriusXM, the official satellite radio partner of Major League Baseball, will provide live play-by-play coverage of the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on the MLB Network radio channel. The game can be heard by SiriusXM subscribers on SiriusXM radios (channel 89), on the SXM app and online at SiriusXM.com/mlb.
Gates open at 2:00 p.m. PT on All-Star Saturday. Tickets for All-Star Saturday on July 8 and the T-Mobile presented HBCU Swingman Classic on July 7 can be purchased at AllStarGame.com. Tickets to the Capital One PLAY BALL PARK are also on sale now. All-Star Saturday tickets include access to both the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game presented by Corona.