Three MLB taems made decisions on their top prospects on Friday. Two of them were praised, one of them was panned. Both responses were exactly what you’d expect nowadays.
In the case of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers, they received widespread praise. The Brewers and Rangers decided to call top prospects Jackson Chourio and Wyatt Langford. Chourio, 20 years old, is MLB’s second-ranked prospect. He’s an extremely exciting player who will jolt the Brewer offense, which has been in need of life over the past few seasons.
Langford, meanwhile, is the top prospect for the reigning World Series champions. The Rangers boast an impressive lineup as it is, and adding a player of Langford’s caliber and promise only elevates them.
These are also very exciting decisions. Top prospects, for any team, are exciting because of their promise. Ranger and Brewer fans now can be excited for something additional along with the usual tremors Opening Day brings to the table.
Meanwhile, there are the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles won the American League East last year and have an impressive roster. They also have MLB’s top-ranked prospect: Jackson Holliday, a shortstop, and the son of former Major Leaguer Matt Holliday. But the O’s decided against bringing him up for Opening Day.
While the Orioles would have gained significant goodwill from their fans and otherwise, they opted to not do the easy thing. While Holliday remains the top prospect, and a player who’s gotten plenty of exposure over the last year or so, he’ll have to start in the Minors this year along with other top prospects.
There were two different tales on display here. The MLB world had much to say.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022